Anathema
by AiChinatsu
Summary: Noun, Plural - Anathemas: 1 - A person or thing detested or loathed: 2 - A person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation or destruction: 3 - a formal ecclesiastical curse involving excommunication: 4 - any imprecation of divine punishment: 5 - a curse; execration. He was anathema to her. And she couldn't get enough. Rated for violence, language and sexual situations.
1. Rancor

Anathema

So I got bored, and decided to write this thing- idk how far I'll take it. Love the manga and anime (Have you seen the animation? It alone makes the show worth the watch.), and so I decided to put my own little twist to it. The story will loosely follow the manga/anime, but please be warned, as it is technically an Character Insert story, a lot of the story will center on Taka and her relationships with the original characters through out the series. So I don't want anyone to IM me about how I'm not staying true to the original story should it ever veer off course.

Everything I write happens for a reason, and in Tatara's famous last words "Don't sweat it, it'll all work out."

I do not own the K Project Series, or any of it's characters. Just my OC's (this is the only disclaimer I'll be doing).

And last but not least, if you haven't read the manga or seen the anime (I highly recommend you read the many manga series' before watching the anime) SPOILER ALERT!

* * *

Rancor-

Noun

1 - Bitter, rankling resentment or ill will; hatred; malice

* * *

Takara "Taka" Totsuka was not what one would call a social butterfly. She understood the need for human interaction, and indulged in the psychological necessity on a strictly as needed basis. Usually, that is. Her older twin brother, Tatara, was very different from her in this way. People flocked to him like humming birds to sugar water, and he soaked up the attention like a sponge, always seeming to have unlimited patients in every situation and the ability to make friends with the most unlikely of people. It's this personable trait of his that Taka both admired and scorned.

She loved her brother more than life itself, and she would do anything for him, even if it meant putting her own happiness and health on the back burner. This time around, she was doing both. You see, the problem with having such a personable sibling was the fact that they could attract the attentions of any array of human being. And there were plenty of times that Taka didn't approve of Tatara's new friends. The two men she was currently sitting across from were prime examples. Hate's a pretty strong word, but it was close-

"You're pissing me off." Ah, there it is. If one phrase could sum up the entirety of how she viewed these particular men, then that was it. They were infuriating. Or at least, one of them was.

Taka glanced up from her bowl of ramen, her traditional scowl replaced with a look of apathy that would put the normally stoic Suoh Mikoto to shame. Coincidentally, it was this very same man who had spoken to her, his face scrunched up in annoyance. "Good fucking morning to you too, Red." His frown deepened at the sound of her customary nick name for him, something she had labeled him with on the very first day of their meeting some two months prior. "The hell crawled up your ass today?"

"Hmm..."

She lifted her chop sticks and pointed them at him across the table. "Good. I hope you get septicemia, eventual sepsis, and croak."

Izumo, the less annoying of Tatara's newest best friends, gave a dramatic sigh as he pulled out a cigarette from his coat pocket. "And it starts. Seriously, can't the two of you go more than five minutes with out causing a scene?"

"No." Taka and Mikoto said in unison, neither one backing down from their intense staring contest. Izumo rolled his eyes at their childish behavior. Like oil and water; or fire and gasoline. From the first time they locked eyes, they had been fighting. The arguments were petty and could spark out of nowhere, and more often then not they would escalate into physical altercations. Izumo would be lying if he said that the first fist fight they had gotten into hadn't scared the shit out of him; Mikoto was abnormally strong by human standards, and he had a hard time holding himself back in a fight. But after the tenth fight or so, Izumo's worry soon tuned into annoyance and the reluctant acceptance. Where the hell was Tatara? It was only when he was around that Mikoto and Taka wouldn't try to rip each others throats out.

"Septicemia?" Mikoto questioned, his furrowed brow quirking ever so slightly.

"Basically I want you to die from slow, naturally occurring blood poisoning- Don't put your grimy fingers in my food!" Taka smacked at Mikoto's hand as he reached back for another piece of meat from her ramen bowl. "Jeeze! Doesn't Izy-chan ever feed you?!" She grabbed the bowl and pulled it as fare away from him as possible. "Go get your own!" Unfortunately, Mikoto was many times taller than her, and once he had his eyes set on a plate of food, there was little that could be done from stopping him eating it. So naturally he stood up and leaned over top of the table, making Takara lean back away from him in a failed attempt to save her lunch. She leaned back so far that she would have fallen off the bench had she not grabbed reached out and grabbed hold of his shirt with her free hand. "Back the fuck off!"

"Stingy."

"I'll be as stingy as I want!"

Izumo rubbed his temples in aggravation as a crowd of people started to turn and watch the spectacle. "For the love of god, will the two of you knock it off already!? Takara, just share your food!" His demands fell of def ears however, with the two teens getting into an interesting wrestling match, during which Taka was somehow able to eat and fend off Mikoto's attempts to steal her food. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Izumo let out a tense sigh. "Tatara, please save me from these animals..."

"Hm? Did I hear my name?" It was as if god had sent Izumo an angle; Tatara, the older of the two Totsuka twins, came meandering out of the crowd, his trademark smile plastered onto his face. "Hello! Sorry that I kept you all waiting; I was talking to one of my sensei's and picking up Takara's homework." He sat a large black back pack down onto the table top. "Did I miss anything?"

At that moment Taka came flying over the table top, landing with a undignified grunt on the ground behind Tatara and Izumo, the later of whom sighed heavily. "Nothing out of the ordinary." Tatara laughed as his sister pulled herself up onto her hands and knees, before crawling half way onto the bench.

She opened her eyes to shout at Mikoto for throwing her, only to find that her now empty ramen bowl was sitting on the table directing before her. "More." That single word from Mikoto was enough to push her into full on bitch mode. She picked up the plastic bowl and threw it at him, hitting him square in the forehead with just enough force that his head rocked back ever so slightly.

"DON'T STEAL MY FOOD THEN ASK ME FOR SECONDS, DICK WEED!"

* * *

"Bye King! Izumo!" Tatara waved enthusiastically at the backs of Izumo and Mikoto as they went their separate ways from that Totsuka twins. Izumo was the only one to wave back, making Taka tsk in annoyance; Mikoto had always been to arrogant for her liking. She liked Izumo though, and returned his wave with a two fingered one of her own.

"Seriously Tatara, I don't know what you see in that guy." Taka said earning an eye roll from her older brother. " He's just so- so-"

"Intriguing? Enthralling? Kingly?"

Taka grimaced at her brothers adoration towards the infuriating red head. "You know if you like him that much, you should probably just confess. He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy to understand subtly."

Tatara laughed joyously, his right hand coming up to wave off her disgust. "Taka, you're so funny! Of course, I do agree with you about how dense our dear King can be at times."

" _Please_ don't lump me in with your delusion." Taka said as she turned to walk away, leaving her brother and his unwavering mirth to follow behind her. The two of them continued on in relative silence, with Tatara humming a light tune under his breath and Taka walking with her hands laced behind her head, her lips pulled into a small pout.

This was how they spent the majority of their time when not with Mikoto and Izumo. Patrolling the streets, stopping into various shops as they went to satisfy Tatara's ever growing list of hobbies. It was a way to pass the time as they both avoided going home for as long as possible. "Oh, Taka, look at this!" Tatara held up a not so impressive looking bonsai tree, which looked much more like a twig set in an ugly terracotta pot full of dried up earth.

Taka pinched her nose at the rotting smell that came from the pot, and pushed it away from her face. "Gross! Don't just shove rotting trees under my nose like that!" Tatara only laughed at her out burst as he continued to examine the obviously dying plant. "What could you possibly want with that old, dried out stick?"

"Why, I want to nurse it back to health of course!" Tatara said as he checked the price tag, grimacing slightly. "Though I think I'll have to pass on this one..." He set the potted plant back down before turning towards her with a wide smile. Taka glanced between him and the plant, her pout growing into a frown. "Well, should we start heading home?"

"Hmm..." Taka took out her PDA, checking the time stamp; it was nearly eight thirty. "Yeah; the dead beat should be gone by the time we get there." Tatara chuckled a bit under his breath before walking past her and out into the busy street. Taka took another look at the dried up bonsai tree before following her brother out of the shop.

The toe of her converse scuffed the pavement just moments before the sound of the flesh hitting flesh resonated heavily in the densely populated street. Glancing up, she half expected to see a couple of drunken idiots fighting over some slutted up chick; she was not however, prepared to catch Tatara who came falling back into her, leaving both of them sprawled out on the sidewalk. "Tatara, what-?!" Pushing her brother just far enough away from her to get a look at his face, her eyes widened in shock when she spied a trail of blood trickling down his chin from the corner of his mouth. "What the hell-!"

It felt like her head had been split open at the temple by a metal bat; she would later learn that it had actually been a size thirteen steel toed boot that had taken her by surprise. She tried to fight back as what seemed to be hundreds of hands made a grab for her and Tatara. She managed to grab one of them with her right hand, and willed their energy away from them, feeling the smallest ray of hope when she watched them fall to the ground. Taka's victory was short lived, however, when the same heavy force that had struck her head came crashing down onto her hand, resulting in a series of snaps and crackling to come from said appendage. The pain was excruciating, and it coupled with her profusely bleeding temple made her vision begin to black out.

Ahead of her she could barely make out the top of Tatara's head, as he lay on the ground in the fetal positon, taking blow after blow with barely a sound. She tried to reach out for him with her shattered hand, but she was stopped by the same guy as before, though this time he'd slammed his foot into the middle of her back, knocking the wind out of her. Was this it for them? They came into the world together in a violent, unimaginable way. So it only made sense that they should die together too, right?... _this what they call cruel irony? Avoiding going home to an abusive free loader, only to get beaten to death on the streets..._

The sound of sirens and running foot falls soon met her ears, and just like that the beating was over, their assailants making a run for it just as the flashing lights of Scepter 4 appeared. Pushing herself up onto her knees with her good hand, Taka managed to drag herself over to her brothers side. "A-ani..." She didn't get a response at first and fear gripped her heart. "A-ani! Answer me, damn it!" It took but a second after her out burst for him to move his head, his brown eyes peeking up at her through the curtain of his sandy hair. Oddly enough, he smiled at her. "Ani..."

"D-don't look at me like that Imoto... I-it's gonna be alright..." His speech was slurred, and blood coated his teeth. Just before the medical team got to them, Tatara lost consciousness, his ever present smile fading. Taka reached for him again, but was stopped by a member of the medical team as they came to kneel between the two siblings. Once again Taka found herself surrounded by strangers, but this time around she felt no pain. At least, not in the physical sense.

* * *

"You okay Mikoto?" Izumo stood behind his beloved bar, a long stemmed glass held in one hand while he shined it with another. His closest and oldest friend, Suoh Mikoto, leaned heavily against the bar from the other side, his brows furrowed and his mouth pulled into a deeper frown then normal. He was dressed in his high school uniform, having just finished that days classes, and was promptly ignoring the cup of tea he had requested upon entering the HOMRA Bar. "You've been tense since yesterday; still thinking about those kid's that have been hanging around?"

"You mean that annoying little brat and his bitch of a sister?" Mikoto said, the underlying bitterness in his voice making Izumo pop a small smile.

"You gotta admire his persistence; he doesn't seem to care that you hate it when people come around and kiss up to you all the time." Izumo set the glass down, an even wider smile coming to his face. "His sister on the other hand, seems like she couldn't care less if you just dropped dead on the spot. As different as night and day, those two-hm?" The phone at the opposite end of the bar rang, stopping Izumo mid sentence. "But you gotta admit, they both got balls."

Mikoto's frown, if at all possible, deepened. From behind him he heard Izumo answer the phone, but he didn't pay him much mind as his own thoughts were starting to wonder a bit. Yeah, those twins sure where a pain in the ass; and Izumo was right, they were as different as night and day. It was hard for Mikoto to decide which one pissed him off more."-Thanks for calling. Yeah, don't worry, I'll take care of it." Hearing Izumo hang up the phone, and catching the forlorn tone in his voice, made Mikoto perk up and glance at his friend over his shoulder.

"Uhh, well... I'm not sure how to tell you about this." Izumo said, turning towards Mikoto with a trouble look on his normally passive face.

"Tell me what?"

Izumo sighed and scratched the top of his head in a hesitant manner. "Those kids we were just talking about; that was Taka. I guess they were jumped last night, and landed up in the hospital. Tatara insisted that she call us..."

Mikoto tsked and turned away from Izumo, his hands balling into tight fists. Those idiots.

* * *

Tatara Totsuka looked like shit. His left leg and arm were in casts, a thick gauze bandage was tapped to his cheek which looked swollen and severely discolored, and a tight bandage was wrapped around his head. But despite looking like he'd just been hit by a city bus, he was casually reading a book. When Izumo and Mikoto stepped into his room, the smile that lit up his face wasn't any less radiant as it normally was, though he did wince when the action stretched his bruised cheek. "What a surprise, what brings _you_ here King?"

"King of what, exactly?" Izumo asked as he walked over to the bed side table and set down what looked to be a twig set in an ugly terracotta pot full of dried up earth. "Here; your sister said that you were interested in bonsai. Though I'd be damned why she insisted that we get you the sickest looking tree we could find."

"Ah," Tatara smiled warmly at the weakened little tree. "I'm hoping to nurse it back to health. It seems wrong to just leave it alone, when it's in such a sad state. It was very nice of you to bring it, even if it was by my imoto's request."

"Who jumped you, kid?" Mikoto said, clearly not interested in the small talk. Tatara looked his way, the warm smile never once faltering.

"Listen pal," Izumo said, regaining Tatara's attention. "If you keep hanging around this guy, you're gonna be spending a lot of your time in the hospital. That goes for Taka too." Izumo gestured towards Mikoto, who didn't seem to be the least bit offended why Izumo's words. "You might think the two of you will be safe, being near someone this strong, but you'll find out the exact opposite is true."

Tatara chuckled a little. "We'll be fine, don't worry; Takara is a lot stronger then she looks. They just got the jump on us is all."

"Maybe you didn't hear what I was tellin'ya." Izumo said just a second before Mikoto lifted up his foot and kicked the end of Tatara's bed, making the teen jump in surprise.

"Don't play around." Mikoto said, his amber eyes narrowing in annoyance. "Tell me who did this."

Like a switch had been flipped, the soft smile of Tatara was replaced with a somber frown. "Before I tell you who it was, I have a huge favor I need to ask regarding Taka. Will you hear me out?" Mikoto and Izumo shared a side long glance, before Mikoto nodded his agreement. "Okay... it's my foot." A heavy pause filled the room, and before Mikoto and Izumo knew what was happening, Tatara's smile was back in place and all seriousness had vanished. "It _really_ itches like crazy! Could you scratch it for me? I'd ask Taka, but she'd probably just hit me with her cast!"

Izumo quirked a disbelieving brow at the teen who lay covered in bandages before them. "Huh?" Tatara only chuckled at their confusion, wiggling his toes that peeked out from the foot of his cast. Much to Izumo's further surprise, Mikoto actually did it. He didn't look to happy about it, but he actually reached over and scratched Tatara's foot. And then, much to Izumo's relief, he punched Tatara atop his head. For a second, Izumo was staring to think that Mikoto had lost his mind.

As Mikoto stalked out of the room, he could hear Izumo scolding Tatara about something or other. To be honest, he didn't really care at the moment. He was so infuriated with the whole mess. He knew, in some way, this this was his fault. He'd let those two tag along and now they've gone and ended up in the hospital, jumped by a few no good thugs just looking to pick a fight with him- "Whoa, what did that window ever do to you, Red?"

Mikoto let out a rather shallow sigh; he was already on edge. He really didn't need _her_ ganging up on him right now. "Just go away." He said as she came to stand directly beside him. He didn't bother to look her way; he'd recognize that annoying voice anywhere. But he did look at her reflection, and what he saw only made his foul mood worse.

Taka wasn't a weak woman; while he actually tried not to go all out on her when they would fight, he knew that she had some power in her. Unlike her ditzy brother, Taka had what it took to win a fight. So seeing her in a full arm cast and a gauzed up head just pissed him off; she was better than that. But like Tatara had said, who ever these people were, they had gotten the jump on the twins. It made Mikoto wonder if the outcome would have been different if Taka had seen the attack coming. "If I could leave this place I would, but they gave me an anklet that triggers the alarm system if I step foot outside this hall. Fuckers."

Mikoto grunted, and just like that the tension in his shoulders lessoned. If she could fire off at the mouth then she couldn't be hurting that bad. "Are you gonna tell me who did this, or am I gonna have to hit you too?"

Taka leaned heavily against the window with her good side, laying her injured temple against it's cool surface. "Like hell I'm gonna let those bastards get away with what they did to Tatara." Mikoto glanced down at her, an expectant look in his eye. "All I can remember is getting hit in the head with something really hard; a witness said that one of the guys kicked me with black steel toed work boots. Guess they were all wearing them. I also remember seeing white scarves; they all had one tied around their upper arm."

"Hmm..."

She looked up at him, and he was surprised by the level of anger he saw in her eyes. Sure, they were normally always at each others throats; they just didn't mix well. But this time was different. The depth of her anger was almost terrifying, or at least he's sure it would have been to anyone else. "If you find who did this, and you happen to feel in a generous mood, give them a few good whacks for Tatara."

"What about you?" Mikoto willed himself to disengage their staring contest and returned to looking out the window. "You're in here too."

She snorted. "If I hadn't let him leave with out me, then this wouldn't have happened." He looked at her reflection, his brow furrowing in confusion. "He might be older than me, but I've always lead the way for him. I've always been his protector. But this time I failed at my job." She tucked her injured arm into her side, a certain level of resolve falling onto her face. "I deserve the beating I got." Mikoto sighed, and slammed his fist into the top of her head, abut a lot softer then he had to Tatara a moment ago. Taka squawked none the less, her uninjured left hand coming up to grab at her scalp. "Holy mother of- you prick, I already have a fucking concussion, why the hell would you hit me?!" She socked him back with her left hand, hitting him right in the gut and instantly regretting her decision when she hit solid muscle. "Shit, mother fuckin' dick weed son of a-"

"There." Mikoto reached out and laid his hand on top of her still throbbing head, making her pause in her cursing. " _Now_ you've had the beating you deserve. Idiot." And with that he walked away, leaving her fuming in the hall.

"One of these days Mikoto, I'm gonna stick my foot up your ass and use you as a leg warmer!" Shaking out her newly injured left hand, she cursed under her breath before turning to continue on her original path of Tatara's room. She was met by the amused face of Izumo who held his hands up in surrender as if by force of habit. "Damn, will you please start feeding him things that are higher in fat so when I punch him I don't break my hand?"

Izumo chuckled a little. "I'll do my best; thank you for taking the time to talk to him though. I was worried that he was going to lose his cool in the middle of the hospital." Taka tsked and turned her head to the side, a sour look on her face.

"As if I did it to calm him down; if anything I was hoping to pick a fight with him." She shrugged and made her way past Izumo who had a look of surprise. "It's boring as hell in this place; but I guess he wasn't in the mood to fight. Damn it."

Izumo watched her walk into Tatara's room, and he instantly heard her yelling at him for not telling Mikoto anything about he men that had attacked them... _yeah, those two are as different as night and day... Mikoto and Takara however..._

* * *

The day that Tatara and Takara were released from the hospital couldn't have come soon enough for the younger twin. If she had to spend another week in that place, she might have gnawed her foot off to be rid the anklet and escaped. Tatara couldn't help the chuckle that left him as he watched his younger sister practically bounce on the balls of her feet while he finished checking them out. With his nearly dead bonsai in hand, and Taka at the back of his chair pushing him forward, they exited the hospital at long last."FREEDOM!"

"You're so silly Taka; we were only in there for a couple of weeks." Tatara said as Taka took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air despite the distinct chill that was present.

"Yeah, I know; but I was _dying of boredom_." She said before taking the lead, pushing her brother in some random direction. It was a little harder than expected, given her right arm was still in a cast up to her elbow (the full arm cast had been deemed ready to come off after the second week, thank god), but she managed not to hit anyone. It felt nice to have some semblance of normalcy back in their lives, even if their aimless wondering was all they had at the moment. "Speaking of dying, are you sure that bonsai is still alive?"

Tatara nodded his head with enthusiasm, and held it up for her to examine over his shoulder. "Of course it is! Just look at the base of the trunk; see? It's already starting to grow green!"

"...Isn't that moss?" The two siblings stopped and glanced over their shoulders, surprised to find Izumo and Mikoto heading their way. It had been Izumo who had spoken to them.

"Hmmm, I guess it could be." Tatara said with an optimistic smile. "But I like to think of it as a step in the right direction! Speaking of a step in the right direction, what a surprise meeting the two of you here!"

"You got out early." Mikoto said, his sharp amber eyes glancing between the two twins and their injuries. Taka shrugged her shoulders and turned Tatara so that he could face the other two properly.

"No reason to stay there any longer than we have to." She said earning an eye roll from Tatara.

"More like Takara badgered them into letting us out." He laughed despite his sister shooting him a sour look. "I thought she was going to throw the poor nurse out the window."

"It's still not to late for me to abandon your ass here, ani." Takara said earning a sheepish giggle from Tatara. "Anyway, we should be heading home; our dad is expecting us-?" Takara blinked in mild surprise when Izumo walked over and took of the wheel chair from Taka, asking Tatara for directions to their home. "Um... could I consider this kidnapping?" She asked as Izumo started to push Tatara in the direction of their apartment. She frowned; she wasn't really planning on taking him home yet... not while there was a chance the dead beat was home.

"You coming?"

Taka jumped at the sound of Mikoto's voice so close to her, drawing her out of her troubling thoughts. "Doesn't look like I have much of a choice." Mikoto grunted in response and the two took off after Izumo and Tatara. Taka was mentally flogging herself; if she had known that they were going to come today, she wouldn't have pushed leaving so soon. She would have much rather them not know. But now, they were walking Tatara and herself home; and that's not somewhere she wanted to be.

"If you haven't recovered, you shouldn't have left." Mikoto said, sounding more than a bit frustrated at her.

She shrugged. "Tatara wasn't kidding before; I was losing my mind in that place. I hate being sedentary for so long." She looked down at her right forearm, which was tucked gently against her side now that she wasn't pushing Tatara. Looking past her arm she spied what looked to be white bandages wrapped around Mikoto's knuckles, the sight making her brow furrow. "...did you find them?" Mikoto gave her a side long glance, grunting in response. "I know you didn't have to do anything; it's not like you owe him an ounce of your concern. And even if you didn't do it for him-"

"Shut up." Mikoto said, his brow furrowed in frustration.

Takara felt her temper flare up. "I'm just trying to say thank you, ass!" She hissed out at him, determined not to draw attention from Izumo and Tatara who seemed perfectly happy in their own little conversation.

"Just say it." Mikoto sighed the words, sounding truing exhausted with the entire conversation. Takara puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. They walked in a tense silence for the next couple blocks, with neither wiling to even glance the others way. It wasn't until they were in the home stretch that Takara decided to swallow her pride.

"Thank you." She tried hard not to sound begrudging, and it seemed to have worked seeing as all she got in return was a small nod. They neared the front door to their ground floor apartment, and Taka couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh when she didn't spot the dead beats car. She trotted forward, putting herself in front of Izumo and Tatara in order to open the front door and allow Izumo to wheel her brother in. Her previous regret to allowing the two men to escort them home came reeling back, however, when she stepped into the apartment. Empty beer bottles and dirty dishes littered every surface, and there were burns in the carpet from go only knows what. The air reeked of vomit and sex, though it seemed that where ever the dead beat was now, it had been a while since he'd been home. "Fucking Christ." She didn't try to hide the anger in her voice as she walked into the apartment and started just kicking things out of the way. Izumo and Mikoto shared a look behind the siblings backs, but they didn't dare voice their opinions. Or at least, Izumo didn't.

"Is this normal?" Mikoto asked as he spied a particularly interesting looking plate that seemed to have started to sprout it's own eco system. Takara glared at him over her shoulder.

"Thank you for walking us home." Tatara said before his sister could go ape shit on the seemingly oblivious Mikoto. "With Taka's arm, I'm sure we would of had to make a few stops along the way."

Izumo took Tatara's queue and started for the door, pushing Mikoto out ahead of him. "Don't even mention it! Feel free to stop by the bar when ever you like." He flashed them both a wide smile before effectively shoving Mikoto out the door and shutting it behind them.

Takara scoffed, her temper still flaring from Mikoto's idiotic statement. ""Is this normal?" What an ass!" She hissed beneath her breath as she made her way into the small kitchenette in search for a garbage bag. Tatara watched her go, sighing ever so softly as he took in the mess around them; this was going to be a long night for the both of them.

* * *

Izumo took a long drag off his cigarette, a worry line scoring his brow. "Your lack of tact never ceases to amaze me." He said, earning a grumpy grunt from the younger man beside him. "It should have been obvious from her reaction that their place doesn't normally look like that."

"She's always pissy." Mikoto said, sounding almost as tired as Izumo felt.

Izumo rubbed the back of is neck, trying to ward off his growing headache. "Well maybe now we know why. I don't know about you, but I didn't hear a single thing about their dad coming to see them in the hospital."

"She calls him Dead Beat." Izumo gave him a curious look making Mikoto sigh in annoyance. "I've heard her when talking to Tatara." Izumo makes a thoughtful sound, and the two continue their trek in silence.

* * *

Taka thought her arm was going to fall off. It had taken her nearly four hours to fully clean up the apartment, or at least make it look decent. Washing dishes with only one good hand had been a nightmare. The carpet burns would never come out, but at least the place didn't smell like fornication. She was currently in the bed room that she shared with Tatara, the two of them relaxing on their shared bed. "I wonder where he is." Tatara said, earning a side long glance from his sister.

"Who knows? Or cares for that matter." She said, turning over onto her side. "I'm just happy to be back in my own bed, even though it means having to be back here again." Tatara made a sound of agreement before the two of them fell into a comfortable silence. Takara's mind wondered back to their time spent in the hospital; it had truly been a boring time. When Izumo and Mikoto weren't there, she had no one to talk to and nothing to occupy her mind with. She wasn't like Tatara, who could talk to anyone about anything, or read a book about nonsense. She was far more physical than her twin, and needed constant physical stimulation in order to not loose her literal shit... as her mind continued to wonder, she began to feel drowsy. Glancing over at Tatara she couldn't help but smile when she found him sound asleep, his casted arm tucked awkwardly above his head. Deciding not to fight it off, she allowed herself to fall into a particularly peaceful sleep.

* * *

"Suoh Mikoto, I swear on all that is holy and pure in this world, if you don't lay off me I'm going to throat punch you." Taka wasn't sure what had started todays fight. There was a part of her that was pretty certain that the two of them had simply looked at each other and an nonverbal agreement had been met; today, we fight. And while they had always been testy towards each other, she couldn't help but notice just how testy her redheaded mortal enemy had been over the last few months. Yes, fucking MONTHS. It had been almost three months since the jumping, and ever since the day she and Tatara had been released from the hospital, Mikoto had been going through some major PMS.

It was like Mikoto was just in the mood to fight, and she was more than happy to take him up on his offer. The Dead Beat had been around more often than she was comfortable with, and she would take any reason as a good reason to let off some steam. "I'd like to see you try." He said, his amber eyes smoldering from across the room. She glared back with equal intensity. Challenge accepted.

Sitting at the bar Tatara and Izumo glanced between the two wearily. They could sense the fight brewing, and this time around it sounded like it was going to get physical. Rather than try to step between the two, Izumo let out a pensive sigh. "If the two of you are going to get into a fight, do so outside and not in my bar." He said, exasperated by the two of them. The arch enemies didn't even spare him a glance before they stood and moved towards the front door, heading out into the street in a rather orderly fashion considering they were about to beat the shit out of each other. "I swear, the tension between those two grows stronger by the hour."

"King seems to be on edge lately..." Tatara's worry caught Izumo off guard for a moment. It was rare for the young man to show anything but jubilation, which often made it hard to tell what he was truly feeling. "Maybe he's using Taka as a way to get over whatever's bothering him."

"Mikoto isn't as complicated as all that. If something were bothering him, he'd most likely just go out and put a stop to it. He's just been bored." Izumo said earning a curious look from Tatara. "You know, Taka said something interesting to me the first time we visited the two of you in the hospital." The bartender leaned against his bar top, his head resting lazily in the palm of his hand. "She said that she was bored stiff; when I left your room, I saw the two of them talking. Mikoto was pretty pissed off at you, and I had been worried that he was going to loose his cool in the hospital. But he seemed to have calmed down after talking to Taka. The thing is, she told me that she only talked to him because she was hoping that he would want to fight."

Tatara laughed at that, earning a quirked brow from Izumo. "Yeah, that sounds just like Taka for sure." Tatara's smile turned sad, his normally bright eyes becoming fogged with emotion. "Taka's always been a fighter. I'm sure you've come to realize that our home life isn't the greatest, at least not by normal standards. Once our mom walked out, our dad became pretty abusive towards us, though he always seemed to favor me. Guess he knew I wasn't able to fight back." Tatara's smile was back again, the ease in which he spoke of his abuse catching Izumo off guard. "But after a while, Taka started to get in his way. Naturally, it didn't stop him, but I think Taka said something to him. One day he just stopped hitting me." Tatara's face grew dark, a bitter frown falling onto his lips, so unlike his normal carefree smile. "I'm positive that she told him to leave me alone; that she would take all the beatings he had to offer. Ever since then, she's gotten into the habit of getting into fist fights, though shes backed off quite a lot in the last year."

Izumo's frown deepened; he had no idea exactly how bad their situation was. Sure, he could tell from his one and only visit to their apartment that their dad was an alcoholic, probably had some kind of gambling problem and liked to being home random women. But to beat up on his kids... that was pushing it past the line of acceptable in Izumo's mind. Not that he could truly do anything about it. "Sounds like she looks for fights because she thinks she deserves the beating..."

Tatara shrugged, his previous sadness having evaporated in an instant. "Who knows? As far as it goes with King, maybe it's just their morbid way of flirting with each other."

Izumo rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't let either of them hear you say that."

* * *

That night, Taka and Tatara were walking home, with the former sporting a few good sized bruises on her jaw and a busted lip. She walked with a bit of limp now to, having landed awkwardly after Mikoto had thrown her; he'd gone pretty hard on her today, but as for what was bothering him, he hadn't indulged her. Not that she expected him too; they definitely weren't the feeling type. "Taka, why do you always fight with King?"

Taka glanced over her shoulder at Tatara, who looked genuinely curious (if not even a little concerned) to hear her answer. She thought over his question in her head; why _did_ they always fight? What had started todays fight? He'd said something about her wearing a long sleeved shirt in August. Not that she'd ever tell him _why_ she'd been wearing such concealing clothing as opposed to her normal tanks and T's... "Well... I'm not entirely sure, but every time he opens his mouth I just want to choke him out." She scowled, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Hell, there are even times that just seeing his stupid face throws me into a rage. To be honest, if it wasn't for your morbid fascination with him, I would avoid him like the plague. I'm sure the feeling is mutual."

Tatara frowned. "So, you truly dislike him?" He shook his head. "I just don't understand; I thought the two of you would get on just fine, seeing as you're so similar."

Taka spun around so quickly that Tatara nearly ran right into her. A deep, dark emotion boiled in her honey brown eyes, but if it intimidated Tatara at all he did a very good job of hiding it. "Don't _ever_ compare me to that man! We're nothing alike at all! He's stubborn, and arrogant, and hot headed!" Tatara laughed out right at her, making her scowl deepen.

"I'm sorry Imoto, but if you're going to insist that you're nothing like someone, you should try picking out traits the two of you don't share." Taka quirked a brow at him, though it was obvious that she was far from ready to accept what he was saying with out a fight. "It's okay to like someone, Imoto. Even if it doesn't always make sense."

Taka felt her cheeks grow hot. "Where in the hell- I don't _like_ that dick weed! And I'm highly insulted that you would insinuate such a thing!" With out giving him time to respond, Taka turned on her heel and started marching away... _the NERVE of him... insinuating that I could like an ass hat like Mikoto..._ Tatara didn't try to close the distance between himself and his sister, and instead left her to stew on her own. When the two made it back to their apartment, two things became blatantly obvious.

Number one: the dead beat was home.

Number two: they wouldn't be getting much sleep that night.

* * *

It was seven AM when Izumo came upon a curious sight; huddled on the front steps of HOMRA, his jacket pulled tight around his shoulders sat Tatara. Worry instantly took hold of Izumo's heart. "Tatara?" At the sound of his name the young teen stirred, his tired honey brown eyes peeking up at the bartender though his messy bangs. Izumo sighed and pulled out his keys. "Come on; let's get you warmed up." Tatara followed him in at a sluggish pace, something that was distinctly out of character for the normally up beat teen. His spirits lifted ever so slightly when Izumo placed a large mug of hot cocoa on the bar top and pushed it towards him. "Here, before you catch your death." Tatara took the mug up into his hands, sighing contentedly at the welcome heat of it. "Long night?" Izumo probed, hoping to gain some semblance of a reason for the normally vivacious teens droopy eyes.

"You could say that..." Tatara said, trying in vein to force a smile onto his face.

Izumo took one look at that smile before letting out a rather low sigh. "Alright, no beating around the bush this time." Tatara's eyes widened in surprise as Izumo leaned across the bar to level out with him. "Tell me what happened."

Tatara blinked owlishly, his trademark grin slipping easily into place. "I'm sorry, Izumo, but I'm not sure what you mean. Nothings happened, a least nothing out of the ordinary. Everything's fine!"

"Forgive me, Tatara, but I'm not buying into what you're saying." Izumo said, and just like that the smile had faded from Tatara's face. "Where's Taka? Normally it's like pullig teeth to get her to let you out of her sight. Maybe I should just call her and see what's going on."

Tatara shook his head ever so slightly. "I'm afraid that you wont be able to reach her for a while. Imoto isn't feeling very well today..." Izumo was at a loss; the way Tatara was talking, looking like a kicked puppy, made it difficult for him to accept that Taka was simply not "feeling well". Especially after what Tatara had told him about their home situation just the other day. And, if that wasn't prof enough that something was up with the two twins, then hearing Tatara call his sister Imoto was a dead give away.

Izumo sighed, his mouth falling into a grim line. "Alright. You can stay here for as long as you need to." He pulled his PDA from his pocket, and hit one on the speed dial. Tatara watched him with curious eyes; who was he calling? "Hey, sorry to bother you. Something's come up with the twins. Yeah... I've got Tatara here... yeah... don't do anything to rash..."

Tatara chuckled nervously as Izumo hung up the phone. "Taka's not gonna be to happy." Izumo shrugged his shoulders and began his morning routine to open the bar, leaving a very tired Tatara to snooze over his cup of cocoa.

* * *

Taka winced as the peroxide drenched gauze tugged at a particularly long gash that ran up the back of her left arm. As if having a broken right arm wasn't bad enough, right? Last night had been horrible. It'd been the first time in a long time that their dad had come home that drunk, and he hadn't gone easy on her; apparently he was so concerned over the state of her face from her fight with Mikoto, that he felt she needed to be taught a lesson about not getting into fights. What better way to teach non-violence then by smacking her around a little.

She was just about to give up on cleaning out the rest of her arm when she heard the distinct sound of the dead beat waking up, his wet and heavy cough making her cringe. She wondered how much longer he had to live, not that she particularly cared. But as much as Taka hated him, she hoped that he would hold out until after Tatara and herself were sixteen. Just a little less than a year left. At least then they could avoid foster care. "Guess I'll have to sneak out the window..." she thought out loud; the idea of facing that man so soon after a fight left a bad taste in the back of her throat, and it wasn't from the blood on her tongue.

Before she finished putting away the first aid kits contents, a loud banging sound could be heard from the front door. Now who in the hell was that- she heard the sound of splintering wood followed by a loud crash and her fathers shout of shocked anger. "Who the hell are you-" Taka made a mad dash for the living room, thinking that someone was trying to break into the apartment. Thank god their wasn't anyone in the duplex above them; this time someone would have been sure to call the cops. Coming out of the hall Taka's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she caught the tail end of the dead beat getting punched in the face.

"W-whoa! Mikoto, what the hell are you doing?!" She shouted as the dead beat lay gasping on the floor. "You can't just kick in people's doors-"

"Shut up." Mikoto snapped at her before lifting his foot and kicking her dad in the side. Taka intervened then, running over and getting between Mikoto and her dad before the older and much stronger teen could do any more damage. "Get out of my way, Totsuka!"

"The fuck I will! This has nothing to do with you!" She pushed against him in an effort to put more distance between him and her dead beat of a father, but she may as well have been trying to move a brick wall with how little progress she was making. Her father took this moment to scramble to his feet and into the kitchen, pulling out one drawer after another, leaving their contents scattered on the floor in his wake. "Get out!"

A loud crack, like thunder, echoed through the small apartment. It took Mikoto and Taka a moment to realize what had happened, Taka's hand shakily moving from Mikoto's chest to her abdomen where her fingers curled into the fabric of her tank top squeezing out the blood that had started to soak through. "O-oh..." The small gasp of shock was all she could muster before her knees gave out from under her. Mikoto barely caught her under her arms, his own shock quickly bleeding into furry as she became dead weight against him.

Taka's dead beat of a father looked upon them with horror, his entire body shaking so violently that he looked as though he too could faint at any moment. "I-I... she-" He instantly regretted trying to speak as Mikoto, who had been trying fruitlessly to stem the bleeding of Taka's wound, shifted his burning eyes onto the low life that had shot her in the first place.

" _You._ "

* * *

Tatara sat in the same spot he had occupied for the last week, his eyes wondering over the pages of his latest interest, glass blowing. There was a menagerie of beeps and whirring sounds that permeated the air, but by now he had learned to tune them out apart from the steady chirp of the heart monitor. It's one sound he paid close attention to, no matter what ever else he was doing.

The last week had been a hit and miss in that small room; Taka, who had been shot in the back by their father, had flat lined on two separate occasions in the first three days. The panic that had gripped Tatara's heart in those ten minutes it took to bring her back had damn near been enough to make him drop dead himself. Their father, the son of a bitch, was dead; the stress of shooting his own daughter and the third degree burns he had sustained after a freak explosion at their apartment were enough to do him in. Oddly enough, both Taka and Mikoto escaped said explosion, which was chalked up as a gas leak incident, unscathed. Tatara was sure that if she had gotten even the slightest bit of damage from the fire, Taka would have died along side their father...

A knock at the door broke Tatara from his ever darkening train of thought. "Please come in," he called out, grateful to welcome any form of company at the moment. Not even he, in his unfathomable good nature, could hold out against the gloom that came with the near loss of his sister. His spirits were doubly lifted when the familiar face of Izumo entered, a comforting smile set on his lips. "Izumo, what a surprise; I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow. Decided to close up shop early today I presume."

Izumo nodded his head, producing a grocery bag and holding it out for Tatara to take. "I was on my way home when I decided to stop by and see how things were progressing. I brought you some thing to eat too." Tatara took the bag with a brilliant smile, obviously over joyed to be able to eat something besides hospital food. "I take it she hasn't woken up yet?"

Tatara shook his head as he set the bag down. "Nope!" He stretched his arms above his head, his ever present smile falling a fraction of an inch. "I'm not going to push her to either; she deserves a long rest after all that's happened." He stood up then and walked over to his sisters side, waving his hand in front of her face. "Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't think she's faking being asleep some times. Every once in a while the heart monitor will pick up, but the nurses tell me she's most likely having a dream when that happens."

Izumo quirked a curious brow. "I didn't know that people in comas could dream."

"Me neither!" Tatara went over to the small side table and picked up a book, holding it out for Izumo to read the cover. It was a medical text book that focused primarily on the brain and it's many functions, and ailments that could alter said functions. "But I've been reading up on them while she's out, and I have to tell you that for being something so negative, comas are incredibly interesting!"

"You don't say..." Izumo wasn't sure how to take Tatara's newest interest; after all, he only became interested in comas after his _sister_ was put into one. "You never cease to catch me off guard with all your hobbies Tatara." Said teen chuckled and hugged the text book to his chest. "Has Mikoto stopped by yet?"

"No." Tatara said, a thoughtful smile replacing his enthusiasm. "Not that I blame him for avoiding this place; after what happened, I'm sure he's out beating himself up, though I really wish he wouldn't. It's not like he meant for it to happen."

Izumo rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, he's been pretty down this last week. And Scepter 4 has been right up his ass too, since Taka's a Strain." Izumo gave the sheepish Tatara a wilted look. "You know you tow could have warned us about that." His grimace shifted to a look of surprise for a moment, and he snapped his fingers. "Oh, speaking of Scepter 4 I was able to talk to their King; since the two of you are close to being old enough to live on your own, he's willing to bend the rules a little. You don't have to worry about going into foster care."

Tatara's face glowed at the news. "That's amazing! Taka will be so happy to hear that when she wakes up!" He turned back towards his sister and bent over, poking her in the cheek. "Hear that Imoto? We don't have to go into foster care-hm?" Tatara stood straight up then, his finger coming to his chin in thought. "But where are we going to stay now that the apartment's gone? Taka's going to worry herself into another coma over that, though I'm sure it'll all work out in the end."

"We'll think of something." Izumo said, the wheels in his head already turning. "If nothing else I could rent you guys a couple rooms above HOMRA; I could always use a couple extra pairs of hands during rush hour at the bar."

Tatara flashed him a sweet smile. "Thanks for the offer Izumo; I'll be sure to talk to Taka about it when she wakes up." Izumo nodded his head in understanding; he knew that the two siblings would never live apart from each other if they could help it. "Will you talk to King for me?"

"Hm? About what?"

Tatara's smile became docile, and his eyes solemn. "I think he needs to come here. She might wake up if he does."

Izumo looked down at the unresponsive Taka, his brow furrowed in confusion. "And what makes you say that?"

"Oh, just call it intuition."

* * *

"Hell no."

Izumo sighed in exasperation. He'd been trying to ease Mikoto into the idea of going to visit Taka in the hospital for nearly three days now. Said young woman had yet to wake up, though it seemed that health wise they were in the clear. "You can't avoid her for the rest of your life; especially since there's a good chance they might be living here soon."

"You're being awfully stubborn Mikoto," Izumo and Mikoto both glanced to Mikoto's left. Sitting at the bar was a long time friend of Mikoto's, Reisi Munakata. Izumo quirked a brow at him while Mikoto's scowl deepened. "After all, it is partially your fault that she's in this state to begin with. The least you could do is visit her."

Mikoto growled and turned his back on his supposed friend. "Fuck off." Munakata chuckled, and Izumo was left wondering the same thing he always was when ever Munakata came around.

He just couldn't see what made the two of them friends. They didn't fight like Taka and Mikoto, but they sure as hell didn't see eye to eye on a majority of topics. Mikoto was brash, and had a violent temper. He was more likely to beat someone into a coma and then try to ask questions, and he sure as hell didn't think rationally when it came to obtaining what he wanted. Munakata on the other hand was cool and collected; hard to anger and even harder to catch off guard, everything he did he did with a purpose. He could talk circles around anyone, and he had a knack for digging straight into the heart of matters. But the mutual respect and trust shown between the two polar opposites couldn't be faked.

Munakata finished the last of his tea and laid a couple bills down to cover is tab. "Sitting here punishing yourself isn't going to change what happened." He said making Mikoto and Izumo both stiffen up. "If you really want to repent, you can start by being there when she wakes up." Munakata stood then and headed for the front door, waving at Mikoto and Izumo over his shoulder. "I'll be back after the Totsuka twins have settled in; Scepter 4 wants to make sure that the Strain, Taka, is properly cared for under the Third King." Mikoto visibly flinched, his hands clenching into fists in a failed attempt to hide the red aura that was slowly starting to seep from his palms.

Izumo sighed and waved back, though he was sure that Munakata hadn't even notice. "See you soon." No sooner had the door the bar clicked shut then did Mikoto get to his feet and stalk towards the back. "Don't go there if you're just gonna be all pissed off. Scepter 4 did a pretty good job explaining away the apartment fire." Mikoto paused mid step, his right hand resting on the back doors handle. "They wont be able to do so if something happens in the hospitals ICU."

Mikoto grit his teeth in aggravation. "Shit." Slamming the door open with his shoulder, he stalked away from the bar, leaving a partially melted door handle in his wake. He would go visit her; but first he had to blow off some steam.

* * *

All he had to do was take another step, but it was proving far more difficult than Mikoto would ever admit. After all it wasn't every day that he would come to visit a coma patient, let alone someone who's coma was partially his fault. He'd done exactly what Izumo had warned him not to do; he'd gone and lost his temper, broke down a door, inadvertently put a relatively innocent teenage girl in a coma, and blew up an apartment building in less than half an hour. He hadn't even meant to go there to start anything, but that all changed when he saw the car parked out side of the apartment. If that bastard hadn't been home... Mikoto let out a pensive sigh; he couldn't push all the blame onto a dead man, no matter how worthless he'd been when he was alive. But now what was he supposed to do? It's not like he could just act like nothing had happened; a man was dead, and Taka- the only thing that saved her, is the fact that she's a Strain. But what if-

"Oh, King!" Mikoto felt his mouth twitch into a frown when the ever enthusiastic Tatara poked his head out of the hospital room door. "I'm so happy to see you! Taka is to, though she may not realize it right now." Mikoto's shoulders visibly slumped; how was Tatara able to compound his guilt with less than fifteen words? "Ah, sorry I'm being rude; please come in! I was just getting ready to talk to her."

Mikoto reluctantly entered the hospital room, and was relatively surprised by what he found. Despite having obviously been sleeping for quite some time, she looked relatively healthy. The last time she'd heard anything from Izumo about her condition, she'd still had a breathing tube and was covered in wires. Now the breathing tube was gone, though there was still a feeding tube going in through her nose... _that looks ridiculous and uncomfortable..._ and the only wires that were still attached consisted of three on her forehead, and a couple on her chest beneath her gown and blanket. The heart monitor was giving off a steady reading, and it sounded strong.

"-it'll help her wake up sooner."

"Hm?" Mikoto shifted his eyes away from the unconscious Taka towards her twin, who was giving him the oddest of smiles.

"I said, that the doctor recommended that we talk to her as often as we can." Tatara said before taking up one of the two chairs that resided on the left side of the bed. "He said that hearing familiar voices can help a person wake up faster."

Mikoto's brow furrowed in confusion. "And what the hell are we supposed to say?"

Tatara put a thoughtful finger to his chin, his eyes rolling up in thought. "Hmm, he wasn't specific really, so I guess you can say what ever you want." He leaned back in his chair, his hands coming to fold together in his lap. "I don't think it's the words that matter really; it's the sound of someone's voice that wakes them up."

Mikoto grunted in frustration. "What ever." He took the chair next to Tatara, sitting with a stiff back and shoulders. He felt so awkward being there; why the hell was Tatara even allowing him to be there? Shouldn't he be calling security, demanding that Mikoto leave? It is his fault that Taka's in this state, and that their dad was dead. Glancing at the older twin, Mikoto frowned; how could he still be so up beat?

"I just remembered!" Tatara jumped to his feet, making Mikoto blink up at him in surprise. "I have to make a quick run to the gift shop, do you mind waiting here with Taka? Normally I would call in a nurse; I'd just hate for her to wake up alone..."

There was absolutely no part of Mikoto that wanted to stay in that room, alone with a coma patient. And worse yet, what if she woke up and saw him there? Tatara seemed to have already forgiven him, but to be honest Mikoto had half expected that to be the case. There didn't seem to be anything that Mikoto could do that would shake this kids unwavering faith in him. But Taka _wasn't_ Tatara; Mikoto half expected her to ban him from ever coming with in twenty yards of her and her brother ever again, or worse, actually try to kill him. "Thanks King! I'll be back in a few!" Mikoto gapped after Tatara who was gone before Mikoto could even begin to deny his request. That sneaky little...

Sighing in defeat, Mikoto sank down into his chair, his arm crossing over his chest and a slight scowl settling over his face. What the hell was he doing there? Walk in and walk out; that had been his plan. But now he was stuck in this room, with nothing but the sound of a heart monitor to keep him company. How has Tatara not pulled his stinkin' hair out by now? Mikoto had only been there for ten minutes, and he was already starting to lose his patients.

"If you would just wake up and stop being stubborn, we could go home." That's it; he's lost his mind. He's talking to an unconscious human being. He's officially reached a new level of boredom that he didn't even know existed. "Damn it..." Mikoto rubbed his hand down his face. "What the hell am I supposed to say?" He sat forward, his eyes trained intently on her face. "I guess I should apologize for blowing up your apartment... and getting you shot... and kicking in your door..." With every confession he wilted a little more, the gravity of his mistakes weighing all the heavier on his heart. "But I wont apologize for what I did to your dad. I knew that bastard was there; and I knew what he'd been doing. Izumo told me, but I'd had my suspicions since the night we walked you two home... but _you_ should have been the one to come to us. I'm guessing that your pride held you back." Mikoto sighed and sat back in his seat, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly. "Not that I have any room to judge anyone when it comes to their pride." He scratched his scalp sheepishly, his scowl loosening up across his face. "As stupid as it sounds, I actually kind of miss having the two you around. Life's gotten pretty boring not having someone to fight all the time..."

 _Flash_

Mikoto jumped, startled at the sudden flash of a camera that momentarily blinded him. He jerked his head around, trying to find who had taken the picture. "Wow, I never knew that you could form such long sentences." His head whipped around, and his mouth hung agape in shock as he was met with the mischievous brown eyes of Taka. She waved an old polaroid photo back and forth, a smug smirk on her face. "Hmmmm, so you've actually missed me huh? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't shocked."

"What the hell- you've been awake this whole time?!" Mikoto felt a mix of anger and horror; anger because he'd been tricked into thinking that she was still in a coma, and horrified that he'd been caught actually talking to her while she was "sleeping".

"Not the _whole_ time; I mean, I've been out of the coma for just over ten hours, but I really was sleeping when you got here." Taka looked at her handy work, a bright smile lighting up her face before she placed the photo and the camera on the night stand. "I woke up right around the part about kicking in my door..." Mikoto once again physically wilted, his reaction catching her the slightest bit off guard. She wasn't expecting him to be beating himself up so much over this; after all, it was _them._ The two people who'd just been trying to kick each others teeth in. "Why such a long face? Tatara already told me what happened."

"Hmm."

Taka sighed. "Ah, back to grunts huh? That's to bad, I was really enjoying our one sided conversation before." A light dusting of pink spread across Mikoto's cheeks making her laugh, though she instantly regretted it as the gesture pulled at her bullet wound. "Gah, bad idea- anyway, you shouldn't beat yourself up over it. And while we're being honest with each other, I'm sorry for getting mad when you showed up." Mikoto perked up a bit, his head cocked to the side and his brow furrowed in confusion. "You were there to help, and you're right, I let my pride get the better of me. I was just really surprised that you of all people would show up, and then I-"

"Shut up." Mikoto sighed and slouched back into his seat. "Just say it."

It was Taka's turn to flush pink, her nervous habit having been picked up by Mikoto once again. "Thank you." Mikoto hummed in response before looking over at the bed side table. "Before you say anything, no. I'm not destroying the photo. Deal with it."

He scowled and turned his head away from her hotly. "What ever."

* * *

"Hmmmm..." Taka looked around the room that Izumo had offered to her; it was pretty spacious, with a single bed and a small dresser that had a mirror hanging over top of it. Surprisingly, the furniture looked rather new; she would have to talk to Izumo about paying him back for it once she found a job. There were even some cloths in the dresser, though she was a little concerned about how he had know her sizes. "Probably best to just believe the Tatara told him..."

"Talking to yourself again Taka?" Tatara asked as he came bounding into the room and flopped onto her bed, making the smallest of smile come to her face. They had been through a lot in the last few months, so seeing him acting so care free was a relief.

"I was just admiring our new digs; I'm surprised that we each have our own rooms though." Taka sat on the edge of the bed. "But I guess when you actually see up here, this place is bigger than it looks from down stairs. I wonder what's in the other two bed rooms on this floor."

"Oh, well one belongs to King-"

"Nope." Taka stood from the bed and patted her jean clad legs as if to remove some imaginary dust. "Sorry. Not happening. I'd rather sleep under a bridge-"

"And the other room belongs to Anna."

Taka's ears perked up ever so slightly. Anna? As in, another girl? Living _here_? With Mikoto and Izumo? "And that would be... who exactly?" Tatara sent her wide grin before rolling off her bed and motioning for her to follow him out of the room. She did so with out a fuss, and when the two arrived at the second door on the left, she was surprised that Tatara knocked respectably.

"King? It's Tatara and Taka. May we come in?"

Taka's nose scrunched up; she didn't want to see _him_ \- she wanted to meet Anna-ooooohhhh. Taka's eyes grew wide at the realization; was Anna Mikoto's girl friend? Who in their right mind- "Yeah." Tatara pushed the door open and motioned for Taka to enter before him. Upon walking past the thresh hold, she could instantly understand why this was Mikoto's room. The bed took up most of the space with a couch sitting at the end of it, and as Mikoto was someone prone to falling asleep anywhere at any time, she honestly wasn't all that surprised. How ever she was completely caught off guard when instead of a full grown woman she found a little girl who couldn't be any older than nine or ten dressing in a red Lolita style dress. She had long white hair and red eyes that seemed to stare past Taka's flesh and straight into her soul.

"..." The two stared at each other for a while, with Mikoto and Tatara sharing a curious look themselves. And then Taka moved, placing her self on the floor beside Anna who instantly scooted until she was tucked into Taka's side. "I love her." Taka said making Tatara and smile and Mikoto quirk a brow at the two.

"The brat-" Mikoto grunted when Taka's fist made contact with his thigh, effectively giving him a Charlie horse. "Shit... what the hell was that for?!"

"Don't be mean to the princess, dick weed!"

Anna glanced between the two of them before looking up at Tatara, an unspoken question in her eyes. Tatara smiled down at her and gave formed his fingers into the "okay" sign. "Don't worry, their always like this. It's how they show their affection for each other-"

"As if." Taka and Mikoto said in unison, which lead to another glaring contest by the two. Anna sighed, though she seemed to come to an understanding about their dynamics. She reached out and grabbed Mikoto's pant leg, giving it one firm tug and effectively shifting his attention from Taka to herself.

"Will she be red?"

Now Taka wasn't sure what Anna meant by that, but judging by the frown that Mikoto formed she guessed that he wasn't overly fond of the idea. In fact, when he looked her way again, he entire persona was screaming "hell no". "...maybe."

Taka quirked a brow at him, completely lost at this point. She motioned for Tatara to lean down towards her which he obliged her in doing. "The fuck is he staring at me like that for?" She half whispered to him, her eyes still trained on Mikoto who now looked mildly annoyed by her antics.

"Mikoto is the Third and Red King now. As such, he's able to gift his Aura to others." Tatara turned around and lifted the back of his shirt, showing Taka his left shoulder blade. Etched across his skin was an intricate, almost tribal looking Tattoo with obscure calligraphy reading HMR at the bottom right corner. "If the Aura accepts you, then you are free to wear the Kings Crest."

Taka's frown only deepened; she wasn't offended that Mikoto was reluctant to offer her his Aura. Hell, the two of them already fought like a cat and dog, god only knows they didn't need to add actual fire into the mix. But Tatara had joined... this put Taka in an odd positon. To be honest, she wasn't interested in becoming a Kings pawn; she never had been good at taking orders, and the thought of having Mikoto as her superior made her stomach knot up in mild disgust. But if she didn't join... Taka sighed. "Do you want me to join?" She asked Tatara as he pulled his shirt back down, his signature smile falling onto his face.

"Of course I do! You're my sister." Tatara said, making both Mikoto and Taka frown. "But it's not up to me; only you can choose what to do with your life, Taka."

Taka and Mikoto shared a long look after that, the wheels turning in both of their heads. Could they make this work? "...I'll think about it." Taka said, earning a grunt of acceptance from Mikoto and a pleased grin from Tatara. Anna however looked uncertain, her worried red eyes glancing between Mikoto and Taka.

* * *

The last three months have flown by so fast, the date on the calendar nearly gave Taka whiplash. Shortly after moving into HOMRA Bar, Taka and Tatara began working for Izumo, earning their room and board and some cash on the side. The decision of whether or not to join the Red Clan was still up I the air for Taka; to be honest, she had yet to see the appeal. From time to time the members of HOMRA would go out on small missions, usually to beat up some thugs that were getting out of hand in HOMRA territory. Mikoto never really did anything, as he apparently wasn't needed to clean up the riffraff. He spent most of his time at the bar, lounging around. It was like pulling teeth to get him to do _anything_ ; Taka could easily compare the Red Clan to a Pride of Lions, and all the members were the lionesses hunting on their Kings behalf. She wasn't fond of the idea.

Also, the fact that she wasn't an official member didn't seem to bother any of the boys that were under Mikoto's rule. Rikio and Chitose were always the first to offer her help in the kitchen, while Bando and Fujishima would tend to the dinning area to help out Tatara and Izumo during the rush hours. It was her time spent with them that made her consider joining HOMRA; they had quickly formed a bond thicker than blood, and watching them go off on their own to beat down some drug dealers always left her pacing the floor. But then Mikoto would come down stairs in all his apathetic glory, and crush the idea. She couldn't fathom working for such a lazy, uncaring King.

This particular night was different though; there was a few major players that were calling Mikoto out, and for once he seemed to be taking things seriously. The only problem was, that Tatara and Anna were going to join him on this adventure, and Taka was not happy about it. "I really don't think this is a good idea." Taka was leaning against the open door jam of Mikoto's room while the Red King idly smoked a cigarette while he waited for the others to arrive. "There's no reason for Tatara and Anna to go with you; they'd just be put at unnecessary risk."

Mikoto sighed, a thick plume of smoke rolling from his nostrils as he regarded her with indifference. "This isn't something that you have a say in." His callous words made the corner of Taka's mouth twitch in frustration. "They requested that all of HOMRA attends; that includes Tatara and the brat."

Taka, who had been fighting to keep a straight face, scowled. "So if they don't go, they could be in danger?" Mikoto shrugged making Taka sigh. "Fine. Then I'm going with."

"You're not a member of HOMRA."

"Then that means you don't have a say in whether I tag along or not." Taka and him shared a level stare, neither one willing to back down. Taka knew she was being stubborn, and she knew that Mikoto was well aware of this fact as well. "You're not my King; you're just my annoying room mate. But Tatara is my brother, and Anna is my princess and I'll be damned if I'm just gonna sit back and let you lead them into the direct line of fire. I'm going."

Mikoto took one last drag off his cigarette before snuffing the bud out in his ash tray. Pushing himself to his feet, he stalked towards her, his eyes hard and his brows furrowed in frustration. He stopped just inches from her and stared her down; a lesser woman would have instantly faltered, given just how much larger Mikoto was compared to Taka. But she held her ground, and glared back at him with just as much intensity. "You piss me off."

"The feelings mutual, Red."


	2. Abhorrence

Abhorrence

Noun

1 - a feeling of extreme repugnance or aversion; utter loathing; abomination.

2 - something or someone extremely repugnant or loathsome.

* * *

The walk to the meeting place was quiet and tense. Taka, Anna and Tatara walked direly behind Mikoto and Izumo, and were flanked on either side by Chitose and Rikio, with Bando and Fujishima taking up the back. Since their encounter up stairs, Mikoto and Taka had been making an obvious effort not to acknowledge each other, though if the others noticed something was up they didn't comment on it. Their King seemed to be in a foul mood, and they didn't want to risk being on the receiving end of his temper.

Anna, the ever intuitive one, glanced between the two of them curiously. Taka, feeling the young girls eyes on the side of her face, looked down at her with a reassuring smile. The young strain tightened her hold on Taka's hand, who squeezed back in response. It'll be alright. Just stay close. Looking forward once again, Taka was surprised to find that Mikoto was looking at the two of them over his shoulder. She frowned at him, his apathetic eyes only serving to push her buttons further.

"Taka." Izumo said with out sparing her a glance.

Taka quirked a brow and maintained her stare with Mikoto even as she answered Izumo. "Yeah?"

"When we get there, stay outside with Anna and Tatara." Taka and Mikoto broke eye contact at the same time, with Mikoto looking ahead once again; they would most likely be fighting later, the very thought making Taka's shoulder sag in exhaustion.

Deciding to go back to ignoring the infuriating Red King, Taka looked towards Izumo who was giving her an expectant look. "Rodger..."

Once again the clan continued in silence until they reached a large six story office building that seemed to be made entirely out of glass. It looked pretty up scale, a far cry from what one would normally associate with a meeting between rival gangs. It was only then that Taka realized that she hadn't even asked who'd "summoned" them. Was it the Mafia? And where were all the people; a building made out of glass, there should be some sign of life in there. "Awfully quiet." She said earning a glance from Izumo and Mikoto, who then looked at each other speculatively. Mikoto looked away first, letting an annoyed grunt out under his breath as he took out his pack of cigarettes, placing one in his mouth and lighting it with a flick of his thumb.

When the clan came to a stop in the center of the deserted street, Izumo turned to Tatara, Anna and Taka, a reassuring smile on his face. "If anything happens, you can contact us using Tatara's ear piece, alright?" He said, addressing Taka in particular. Anna and Tatara nodded in understanding, but Taka frowned.

"And if something happens to you guys?" Taka inquired as Tatara tested his ear piece out with Rikio, the two of them flinching when a high pitched feed back came through both pieces of equipment. Izumo's reassuring smile faltered slightly, though to anyone but Taka and her brother, it wouldn't have been noticeable. "I don't like this." She looked around again, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "There aren't any people around; no pedestrians. And shouldn't someone be here to greet us? This whole situation stinks to high heaven."

Again Izumo and Mikoto shared a look that was impossible for Taka to decipher before Izumo turned back towards her. "If things go south we'll let you know so you three can get to a safer area." Taka bit the inside of her cheek; she wasn't just worried about Tatara and Anna, she was worried about all of them, even Mikoto's irritating ass. But she could tell by the way Izumo was dodging her questions to just let the topic drop; if things went south, they would handle it from their end.

* * *

Rikio lead his three fellow clan members into the building, the four of them looking around warily. "I don't know guys, I think Taka had a point out there; something just isn't sitting right." Chitose said, a cold sweat breaking out over his brow. Of the four members, he was probably the easiest to run away from danger rather than face it head on, an impulse that often left his comrades behind while he tried to regain his confidence.

"Yeah, where is everyone?" Bando questioned as he looked this way and that; the building, though divided by cubicles, was actually one big room with floor to ceiling windows on all the exterior walls. If all the other floors were this way, then it only stood to reason that they should have seen someone from outside. It looked deserted, but not abandoned, as there were still functioning computers and inboxes full of paper work in each of the cubicles. "Is King sure this is the right place?"

"Of course he's sure! He's our King!" Fujishima said in Mikoto's defense, earning a sheepish grin from Bando. "Though it is odd that this place is so empty-hm?" Fujishima held out his hand to stop the others from walking, his head cocking to the side and his brow furrowing in confusion. "What's that?"

"What's what?" Rikio asked, cocking his head to the side as well his own brows furrowing when he picked up a low frequency beeping. "Huh, could it be one of the computers?"

Bando shook his head. "Doesn't sound like any computer sound I've ever heard before."

Chitose scratched the back of his neck. "Then what is it?"

"What are you boys doing? We're here for a reason you know." Izumo said as he came up behind them. Lagging further back still was Mikoto, who seemed to be rather bored with the situation as a whole.

"We're trying to figure out what this sound is-" The six men all paused when they simultaneously felt a shift in the air around them. "What the hell is that?" Chitose asked, his and the other three underlings heads turning every which way. Chitose only paused in his searching when he felt a strange warmth on his hip, directly over his HORMA Tattoo. Lifting his shirt and pulling down the very edge of his jeans, his and everyone else's eyes widened when the spotted the slight glow that was emitting from the tattoos edges.

"Whoa! What's going on?" Bando asked, leaning down to inspect the tattoo. "Hm?" Bandou stood up and pulled up his own shirt, a nervous yelp escaping him as he saw his own tattoo was glowing. "A-ah- mine's glowing too!"

Izumo rubbed his right shoulder, his brow furrowing in confusion. "They all are..."A grunt of annoyance from their King made everyone turn to face him. He'd moved away to look out the window, his eyes narrowing when he spotted Taka standing the middle of the street, an all to familiar aura swirling around her feet and rapidly expanding.

"Totsuka."

"Are you serious?!" Rikio shouted, he and the other three underlings practically running to their bosses side to stare down at the spectacle. "Holy shit, I didn't know she was a member!"

Izumo was a bit slower to come to Mikoto's side, his brow furrowing in confusion when he spotted the Aura that was gradually building around Taka. "She's not." He said earning to confuse his fellow clansmen. "She's a Strain, with the ability to draw energy from her environment and make it her own. But it looks like she's been dipping into dangerous territory."

 _"Izy, do you copy?"_ Izumo blinked in surprise as Taka's voice came through the ear piece; Tatara must have left his with her, but there seemed to be some extra feed back that only grew in tandem with the rise in her borrowed Aura. Sparing a glance at Mikoto, who looked about ready to start bashing heads, Izumo let out a small sigh; things were about to get heavy. "Yeah, I-" Before he could answer her fully, Taka vanished, the rate of her departure leaving behind a sizable crater in the road where she'd just been standing. A moment later and Izumo and the rest of HOMRA had ripped their ear pieces out of their ears as an agonizing blast of feed back threatened to burst their ear drums.

"H-holy shit- what was that?!" Rikio demanded, his right hand grasping at his ear in an futile attempt to sooth it. "It sounded like a fighter jet just exploded in my ear!" Izumo's brow frowned, his eyes once against shifting to his King who looked a little more than peeved as he glared down at the at his own ear piece that now sat in the palm of his hand.

Before Izumo could speak, however, a loud crash accompanied by a plume of dust and debris came from outside in an adjacent ally under his breath, Izumo reluctantly put his ear piece back up to his head, relieved that what ever interference there had been had subsided. "Takara, what's going on out there?" He demanded, his brow furrowing when he didn't receive an immediate response. "Takara!" The others, seeing that Izumo wasn't withering in pain using his ear piece again, returned their to their proper place just in time to hear Taka's voice.

"I just spotted our welcoming comity."

Izumo's eyes widened a fraction of an inch while the others in the clan all made sounds of shock. "What?! Those bastards- they must have been watching us and waited for those three to be alone!" Chitose said, brandishing his fist. "I'll beat every one of them into a pulp for daring to touch my Takara-chan!"

Rikio and the other three clansmen all sweat dropped. "I, uh, think she's got it under control..."

* * *

Taka fingers tapped impatiently against her cocked hip, her relentless fidgeting showing just how nervous she truly was. This was taking to damn long, and from what she was able to pick up on the ear piece she had so graciously stolen from Tatara, the guys weren't finding who or what they were expecting. So then what were they doing there? She didn't doubt Mikoto's information; he was hard headed and stubborn, but he was far from unintelligent even if he was prone to relying on his fists over his brain. And even if he'd been lead wrong, Izumo's connections to the underground world of Tokyo would have been enough to get the facts straightened out. So then where were their hosts?

"Taka." Anna tugged at Taka's shirt sleeve, gaining the blonde haired teens attention. "There." The young strain pointed to an ally way across the street, one that had a clear view of the big building but had otherwise gone unnoticed until then. Standing in the entrance to the ally was a young man in his early to mid twenties wearing a dark base ball cap, dark blue jeans, and a black jacket. Black work boots adorned his feet and around his right forearm, there was tied a white scarf.

Taka's eyes widened in surprise before she scoffed. "Tsk; again with these bastards." She cracked her knuckles. "Tatara, take Anna."

Tatara hummed under his breath, appearing unusually delighted with her order despite the odd and potentially dangerous situation. "Yes ma'am! Come on Anna." Anna reluctantly released Taka's sleeve and allowed herself to be pulled away by Tatara towards an opposing ally way form where the white scarf man was standing. "See you soon Momma Lion!"

Taka felt her brow twitch in annoyance. "Idiot." After the two weakest members of HOMRA had made their escape, Taka let out a relieved sigh; with those two out of the way, she didn't have to hold back.

Being around The Red King, as frustrating as it could be, had taught her one thing about her Strain; if the source of energy was great enough, her body would absorb bits of said energy on a subconscious level. It's impossible for Taka to pin point the exact moment in time that she had started to accumulate the Red Aura, nor does she understand how she could hold onto it with out burning alive from the inside out. If she had to guess, she would say that the natural collection had stared shortly after moving into HOMRA Bar where she was forced to be in direct contact with Mikoto on a daily basis. But even if she'd had little issue holding onto the Aura, she'd been reluctant to release it. The fear that once it held a physical form it would punish her for daring to control it with out it's rightful owners mark weighed heavily on her mind. Not to mention, she's pretty sure Mikoto would have a thing or two to throw at her about taking his Aura with out permission, even if she hasn't figured out how to stop the natural processes of her abilities. However, with the safety of Tatara, Anna and the other members on the line, she felt that there was no time like the present to test out the Red Aura for herself, even if it meant being reduced to nothing.

Activating the conscious part of her Strain, Taka felt a wave of heat rush through her veins. It didn't hurt, per say, but it was distinctly uncomfortable; like sitting to close to a camp fire and being unable to move away. But along with the heat and discomfort, Taka could feel the strength that came with the Red Aura. Everything about her seemed stronger now, like she could take on a speeding bullet a second time and not wind up in the hospital again. The Aura itself was pretty impressive; while she couldn't see it in its entirety due to her lack of a Clans Mark, she could glimpse the vibrant red in brief flashes of light that swirled around her, their pattern never repeating and their movement violent in nature. Taka let out a shaky sigh, her nerves humming in tandem with the pulsing Aura; so far so good. Reaching up for the ear piece, she turned up the volume, wincing when an annoying crackle of feed back assaulted her ears. "Izy, do you copy?"

" _Yeah, I-"_

Taka saw the man reach into his jacket pocket, making her chest constrict in panic and the Aura around her vibrate. She tensed for half a second, and then pounced. The speed at which she moved took her by surprise; she'd been fast before, as she normally used the energy of those around her to amplify her natural abilities to aid her in a fight. But she hadn't been expecting this. When she arrived at the mans side, her leg raised to land a solid blow to his head, she caught the faintest glimpse of fear in his eyes before she delivered her blow. He slammed into the wall with enough force that bricks and chunks of mortar fell down around them, blanketing the ally in a curtain of dust. No sooner hand Taka's feet touched solid ground then did the Red Aura dissipate, its sudden absence causing her to stumble back against the opposite side of the ally. She leaned heavily against the brick wall that caught, taking a couple deep breaths before shouting in agony, her right hand coming up to her ear. She pulled out the ear piece that was now covered in blood. "Fucking shit-"

" _Takara, what's going on out there?!"_ The sound of Izumo shouting over the ear piece made Taka grimace; she really didn't want to put that thing back. She's perfectly fine with only loseing one ear drum that day, thank you very much. " _Takara!"_

Gritting her teeth, Takara reluctantly placed the ear piece into her uninjured left ear. "I just spotted our welcoming comity." Taka could hear someone else on the line breaking into a rant, but she paid them very little mind as she attempted to rub the damage out of her right ear; damn this sucked. She shifted onto her haunches, trying her best to get a good look at the man she'd rendered unconscious through the settling dust cloud. Despite being hit with such a hard blow, it didn't look like he was dead; at least, she could see his shoulders move as he breathed. He was sure to have one hell of a headache though. Remembering that he'd been grabbing for something in his pocket, Taka made her way over to him on shaky legs, falling onto her knees to get a closer look at her victim. Reaching into his jacket pocket, she found something she wasn't expecting; instead of a gun, it almost looked like a garage door opener. "And by comity, I mean one guy. Pretty weak too; all it took was a kick to the head."

 _"...is he still breathing?"_ She was surprised that Mikoto had answered, as he'd been so quite she hadn't even realized that he would be wearing an ear piece. A moment of regret hit her hard; what would he say about her using his Aura? Fuck, what would he _do_? They get into fist fights on a regular basis over stupid shit and he hands her ass to her; so what kind of horrible beating was she due for this time around?

Not wanting to give away her uncertainty, Taka went for the only reaction she could. Anger. "Of course he's still breathing, dick weed!" She barked, feeling far less confident than her voice let on. "Though if his uniform is anything to go by, I'm a little sad that he did survive. Fucking white scarf wearing bastards." She reached down to check his pulse just to be sure; she talked a big game, but there was a huge difference between _saying_ you wanted someone dead and actually killing them out right. She let out a barely there sigh when she felt the flutter of a pulse against her finger tips. "Izy, what should I do with him? I found this weird looking device in his pocket; he'd been reaching for it when I took him down." A kind of tense silence came through from the other end, one that lasted so long that Taka had started to wonder if they had heard her. "Izy?"

 _"Keep an eye on him, we're headed your way now."_ Izumo responded, with Taka nodding absentmindedly.

"Rodger that." Taka lowered the volume on her ear piece once again, her brow furrowing in confusion as she looked over the man she had taken down. She recognized his shoes and scarf, the only thing giving away that he was part of the gang that had jumped Tatara and herself just over five months ago. Mikoto and the rest of HOMRA had taken out a huge fraction of them, and their activities had all but subsided since then, their boss seemingly to scared of the Red King to risk stepping out of line again. So then what was this guy doing here?


	3. Bane

Bane

Noun

Plural - Banes

1 - a cause of great distress or annoyance

* * *

Shortly after Izumo and Mikoto had met up with her, she'd been sent to retrieve Tatara and Anna while the rest of HOMRA escorted (carried) their new friend back to HOMRA Bar. It didn't take her long to locate them; Tatara had only taken Anna some two blocks down, and up a fire escape where they would be out of sight to any passer bys. Spying the two of them near the center floor, Taka waved them down. "Come on you two; the others are waiting for us to get back."

With Tatara doing most of the work, the two made their way down to Taka's side. The moment Anna stood before Taka her brow furrowed in confusion. "Taka, your red..." Taka laughed a little and pet the back of Anna's head.

"Don't worry Anna; it'll come back before to long." She said, her words seeming to comfort the young strain who's face became apathetic once again. "But we really do need to hurry back," she turned toward Tatara who only smiled in return. "Who knows how many of those bastards are actually hiding out around here." Anna took her hand before the trio started on their journey back to HOMRA Bar.

They walked in silence for a while, the three of them just enjoying each others company; it wasn't often that they got to walk in such peace and quiet. The other clansmen were a rowdy bunch. It wasn't until they were nearing the home stretch that Tatara felt the need to break the comfortable silence. "So, how was it?"

"Hm?" Taka asked, glancing at him over her shoulder.

"Kings Aura? Was it the most fantastic thing you've ever seen? Did it make you feel invincible? Did it hurt?" Takara rattled off his questions like a Gatling gun, making Taka grimace at his enthusiasm. She had no doubt that he was only interested in what had happened because it had been Mikoto's Aura she'd been using; he was such a fan boy.

"It was... different." Taka said, a frown falling onto her lips. "It was a lot stronger than I thought it would be; I almost killed the guy on accident, and I ended up using a good chunk of my stores up in that one shot." A frustrated huff left her while her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. She'd never consciously lost control over an energy like she had today, and it pissed her off to no end that it just had to be Mikoto's energy that had bested her. "And it didn't hurt; but it was mildly uncomfortable. Like holding your hand close enough to a fire to get pricked by the heat, but not close enough to get burned."

Tatara nodded his head in understanding, a hopeful look in his eyes. "Kings Aura is the strongest; he's the best King there is." Taka fought the urge to roll her eyes at his praise for the Red King. "Does using his Aura make you want to join?"

Taka frowned once again. "I... I still need more time..." she said after a moment of silence, her answer earning a side hug from her big brother.

"Take all the time you want; I'm sure he's willing to wait the rest of his life for you."

Taka scowled, elbowing Tatara away from her. "Gross, don't say it like that; this isn't some tragic shojo!" Tatara laughed heartily, making Taka's cheeks turn a rather interesting shade of red. "K-knock it off!" letting go of Anna's hand, Taka took a half assed swing at Tatara which he dodged, tucking himself beneath her arm and snatching Anna's hand before taking off at a light jog towards HOMRA Bar, Anna in toe. "Tatara!"

"Don't lag behind Imoto~~" He sang over his shoulder, making Taka growl before taking off after the two of them. Fucking brat!

* * *

After taking care of her light work, AKA, smacking Tatara upside his head for being a dingus, Taka sat herself on the couch, her arms folded over her chest and a deep frown on her face. Anna had taken her normal seat up at the bar, enjoying a glass of cherry juice while Takara paced back and forth across the bar. The other boys seemed to have gone home already, which struck Taka as odd at first, though she didn't bother to think on it to hard; after all, they did have lives outside HOMRA. "Oh, come on Taka, I was only joking!" Tatara wined, throwing himself onto the couch in such a way that his upper body landed on Taka's lap. "Please don't be mad at me~~"

"Baby." Anna and Taka said at the same time making Tatara's pout grow substantially.

"Et too, Anna?" Tatara sighed dramatically, fully collapsing himself onto Taka's legs before rolling onto the ground. "Well you've done it; you've both broken my heart!"

Taka sighed, pushing the bottom of her sock covered foot against his mouth, the action making him squeal like a girl as his air supply was suddenly cut off. "Nothing left to do now other than put you out of our misery." She said in a monotone voice before letting Tatara push her foot away, his dramatic gasps for air making the corners of her mouth twitch into a smile.

"You're a goober, you know that?" She said, turning Tatara's pout into a bright smile.

"Yeah, I know; but I'm _your_ goober." He pushed himself up to his feet just as the sound of heavy foot falls came from the stairs, drawing everyone's attention towards the descending Izumo. He looked around the bar for a minute before his light hazel eyes landed on Taka, making her audibly gulp.

"Taka." Said woman sat up straight when Izumo said her name, her eyes wide and guarded. "Mikoto wants to see you."

Taking a deep breath, Taka stood from the couch, stepping around Tatara as she made her way towards the stairs. She walked with a confidence that was only skin deep; while she wasn't worried about Mikoto being mad at her on most occasions, this time was different. The moment she had realized she'd been taking on Mikoto's Aura, she should have said something. Instead she kept quiet. Now he knew, and the moment he found out, she was pretty sure her death certificate had been signed, sealed and delivered... _well, my life was pretty short, but at least the last couple months haven't been total shit..._

Izumo cast a small reassuring smile Tatara and Anna's way before following Taka up the stairs, and to the far end of the hall. He bit back a chuckle when Taka didn't even bother to knock on Mikoto's door, instead taking it upon herself to walk right in.

"You summoned me?" Taka asked as she walked into Mikoto's room, her sudden appearance making the Red King quirk a brow at her. Normally he'd scold someone for just barging in like that, but seeing as it's Taka, he refrained; it'd just be a waste of his energy. Taka didn't even spare him half a second of her attention as her eyes caught sight of something rather odd.

Tied to a chair on the far side of the room was the man that Taka had taken down just a little over an hour ago. "What's he still doing here?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at Izumo who had just closed the door behind him. "Since everyone else was gone, I figured you'd settled things."

"Mikoto insisted that you be here for the interrogation." Izumo said, earning a quirked brow from Taka, who then glanced over at Mikoto. The Red King looked as bored as ever, his normal apathetic look on his face as he stared down at the floor.

"...alright." Taka turned back towards the unconscious man, a thoughtful frown falling onto her lips. "I can't believe he's still out."

"Well he _did_ get kicked into a wall." Izumo said with a smirk making Taka's shoulders tense up; this was it, wasn't it? She was about to become burnt toast- "But we'll discuss that later; right now, we need answers from out guest." Just as Taka turned to face the two of them again Mikoto tossed the device she'd confiscated off the man towards her. She caught it in her right hand and examined it closely. "This; we had Bando take a look at it. For all intents and purposes, it looks just like your average garage door opener."

Taka quirked a brow in surprise. "A bomb?" At Izumo's nod and Mikoto grunt, Taka turned her head to glare at the man still tied up in the chair, his head lolling uselessly. "Are they fucking crazy?"

"Obviously." Mikoto said, slouching into the couch in such a way it looked as though he could fall asleep at any moment. "You recognize this guy?"

Taka frowned and walked over to the unconscious man, leaning down to get a better look at him. She could see his face much better now that it wasn't obscured by dust and bits of brick. He was middle aged, with a scruffy face and lightly peppered black hair. He didn't look familiar... "Nope." Taka stood up straight again, resting her hand on her cocked hip. "But I'd recognize his so called "uniform" anywhere; he's part of that gang who came after Tatara." Mikoto's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, seemingly irritated with her answer. Taka spied his look out of the corner of her eye. "Got a problem, Red?" When Mikoto didn't respond, she shrugged his bad mood off as best she could, not wanting to draw his temper to the surface until _after_ this business was taken care of. "Anyway, I guess the answer to whether or not they are sane is answered; nobody in their right mind would come after the Red Clan after already having to tango with their King." She sighed and turned around once again to face Izumo. "I was really hoping you guys would already be through with this joker before we got back."

"Little hard seeing as he refuses to wake up." Izumo said, his own irritation starting to come through.

Running a hand through her hair, Taka furrowed her brow in deep thought. There had to be _something_ she could do... Glancing at Mikoto, who was once again spacing off much to her chagrin, an impossible idea came to mind."Care if I try something?"

Mikoto visibly tensed up, his apathetic face shifting into a scowl so quickly it was a wonder his facial muscles didn't cramp up. He shifted his head just enough to stare intently at her through his dark lashes. She met his stare with shaky resolve, her natural pride to challenge him at every opportunity fighting back against her will to not push him further than she already had. Mikoto broke the staring contest first, a light scoff leaving him as he tilted his head back against the top of the couch. "Not like you'll listen if I say no." He said bitterly, making Taka let out a relieved sigh. "Just don't kill him."

Biting her lip to keep her smart retort at bay, Taka turned her head back towards the unconscious man, her brow furrowing as she began to think deeper about what she was trying to do. She could take energy and expel it at will, but could she also... Reaching her right hand out, she placed two fingers against his forehead. The same rush of heat from before filled her, though this time she was prepared; running on empty, she had very little choice but to borrow from Mikoto again... _hell, he's already gonna kill me, might as well make it count for something..._ Focusing all her attention on containing the Aura, and not burning the damn bar down, left Taka blissfully unaware of the Red King and his Advisor's reactions.

Mikoto and Izumo both snapped to attention when the air around them shifted, just like it had earlier that day when Taka had activated her Strain ability. The first thing they noticed was the energy transfer that was taking place; like a phantom flame Mikoto's aura flickered into existence despite him being completely at ease, it's red flame drifting towards Taka as if guided by an unseen hand. It funneled around her and into the center of her chest, the very act making Mikoto's brow furrow in suspicion; how had he never noticed this? Seeing this now, right in front of him, it should have been blatantly obvious that she was taking his Aura right out from under his nose. And how was she not bursting into flames? The tips of her fingers started to glow with his aura, the energy contained in an almost perfect sphere. Said sphere was resting against the unconscious mans forehead, but he didn't appear to be effected by the presence of the fiery Aura.

"Wake up." Taka demanded, the aura accumulated on her finger tips absorbing into the mans skull.

Mikoto and Izumo waited with baited breath, both shocked beyond reason and just a little horrified that she would shoot such volatile aura into the skull of another human being. They waited for the mans head to explode, but they were once again thrown for a loop when he simply jolted into consciousness as if she had only shaken him from a deep, deep sleep. "GAH!Hah-hah..." The man gasped for air and layer of sweat broke out over his skin, no doubt an after effect of having the Red Aura forced upon him. He looked around with frantic eyes, similar to an animal locked in a cage. "W-where-" His eyes, a deep black, landed on Taka who had by then dissipated her Strain ability and was now simply staring him down with mild curiosity. "AH! Demon lady!"

Her left brow ticked in time with her twitching right hand, the temptation to punch him back into unconsciousness almost to strong to ignore. " _Demon?_ " She echoed making the man's face turn ashen in color.

Izumo couldn't help the nervous smile that came to his face as he walked over and ushered Taka to the other side of the room before she could go through with her wish to mangle the poor man even further. "Thank you, Taka, I can take it from here."

Taka scoffed and took Izumo's lead, deciding to walk away before the man could say anything else to piss her off. She reluctantly took a seat on the arm of the couch, keeping her back turned to Mikoto who she knew was just having a ball with what the man had called her. Ass. She didn't let her pride stop her from watching the interrogation though; she wanted to know what these bastards wanted with her boys.

With Taka out of his line of sight, it seemed as though the man would calm down. Unfortunately, with her out of the way, he was able to lay eyes on Mikoto, bringing him to an even higher level of anxiety. "Ah, please; I didn't do it! I was just following orders!" Mikoto quirked a brow and shared a curious look with Izumo. "If you promise to let me go, I'll tell you everything!"

"Well that was pretty easy." Izumo said, scratching the side of his head in surprise. "Guess Gintoki's starting to loose some pull with his man." He knelt down then, getting on an eye to eye level with the man who seemed a bit relieved that he wouldn't have to answer to Mikoto directly. "Well then, let's start with your name."

"I-it's Senji..."

Izumo nodded his head, an overly pleased smile on his face." Very good! Now, Senji, let's hear it. What are the orders you were given, and what do they have to do with HOMRA?"

Senji glanced over the top of Izumo's head at Mikoto and Taka, both of whom were staring at him with blank faces. Audibly gulping, he averted his eyes. "I-I only just joined Mr. Gintoki's ranks; I guess he lost a-a lot of men a few months ago." Izumo's lips twitched, the very corners turning down in a minute frown. "H-he wasn't very happy about it- said he wanted t-to even the score. So he set you up, under the guise of another gang." Senji took a deep breath, trying hard to get her nerves under control. "They invited you to that building after rigging it with explosives; enough to level a building of that size in less that a minute. As part of my initiation, I was given the trigger to set them off-" Mikoto once again visibly stiffened, a dissatisfied grunt escaping him as he dug around in his pocket for his cigarettes. "But I wasn't going to do it, I swear! I-I was going to wait u-until after you all left!"

Izumo sighed and straightened himself up before starting to walk around the shivering Senji at a deliberately slow pace. "Here's the thing; I'm willing to believe you when you say you're new to Gintoki's gang; had you been an older member, you wouldn't have caved the way you did. But our dear Taka," Izumo motioned towards said woman who gave Senji a two finger wave. "-saw you reaching for the detonator before she took you down." Taka tossed said detonator to Izumo who caught it mid air and waved it in the Senji's face. "Care to try and explain that away as well? Or will you retract your blatant lie and tell us the full truth."

"I-it's not a lie!" Senji said, his crumbling resolve all but crashing entirely. "I-I was going to drop the detonator and make a run for it! I've heard the rumors about you people; a group of thugs with supernatural powers lead by a man regarded to as a monster even by those feared in the underground! Not even the Yakuza want to cross HOMRA! When I saw that I was spotted, I decided that I'd rather take a beating from Gintoki for being a coward then risk my neck taking on a member of HOMRA!" Izumo got right into the Senji's, making him once again lose all the color in his face. "P-please, I-I wasn't going to- I s-swear!"

Mikoto stood then, a thick cloud of smoke escaping his lungs before he strode over, taking up Izumo's place. He looked down on Senji, his eyes calculating as the thug practically wet himself in terror. "Where's your boss."There was no room for argument. The man shuddered.

"H-he's d-down town- in the red light district, at a place called Fantasia." Mikoto's eyes narrowed in distaste; he couldn't fault Gintoki for being in such a place, as Mikoto had frequented the red light district himself on a few occasions, but the thought of dragging his gang into such a place? They might as well count Chitose MIA from the get go, and it wasn't somewhere he was comfortable taking Anna. He covertly glanced over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing in speculation when he locked eyes on Taka.

"...I'll let you go." He said, bringing his attention back to the cowering thug. Senji seemed to relax ever so slightly at the news; he'd met the Red King, threatened his men, and lived to tell about it. A bruise or two was far better than he could ever have hoped to walk away with. " _After_ I take care of business."

"Y-yeah... that seems fair-?!" Taka came from around Mikoto, her sudden appearance striking fear into Senji's heart once again. She reached out towards him, ghosting her hand across his face, the action causing him to fall into unconsciousness instantaneously. Mikoto and Izumo gave her looks that were a mixture of curious and disturbed making her shrug.

"If we'd left him awake, who knows what kind of panic he'd work himself into." She said before heading for the door. If she was lucky she could get out before-

"Totsuka." Mikoto called out to her before she could touch the handle. She heard him walking up behind her and turned to meet his glare head on; if she had only moved a little faster. They stayed there for a moment or two, a nervous Izumo watching them from a relatively safe distance. He'd seen the anger that Mikoto had been trying hard to conceal from the rest of the clan, and now that business had been taken care of for the time being, it seemed to be time to take on the nearest pressing matter. Mikoto took one last drag from his cigarette before pulling it from his mouth and extinguishing it on the door frame a mere two inches from Taka's head. She didn't even flinch. "You've been taking my Aura."

"Do you want it back?" She held up the same two fingers she'd used to wake up the thug, the tips glowing red once again though this time she wasn't drawing any energy into herself to sustain it. "I can't promise that it wont hurt."

"This isn't a joke, Totsuka." Mikoto bit out, his blank face giving way to a scowl. "Do you have a death wish? Why would you even risk taking on something so dangerous? What the _hell_ were you thinking?!" He was almost shouting near the end, his aura flaring up around his feet leaving small scorch marks along the wood floor in it's wake. Once again Taka didn't flinch, not even when his flames licked at her ankles and feet. Instead, it wrapped around her and soaked into her skin, adding to her low energy stores. Watching his aura slip away, Mikoto growled, snatching her up by her throat earning a shocked gasp from both Izumo and Taka. " _Stop_."

Izumo stepped in then, placing a restraining hand on Mikoto's shoulder. "Mikoto, don't!"

Taka's shock gave way to furry, her hand coming up to grip at his wrist allowing her nails to dig into his skin deep enough to draw blood. "Fuck you! It's not like I can fucking help it! Do you really think, if I had a choice, I'd be taking energy from an asshole like you?!" Throwing her previous caution to the wind, she went for a low blow, but Mikoto must have seen it coming as he managed to shift his leg over just in time to block her crotch shot.

"What?" Mikoto demanded, his hold on her throat loosening ever so slightly though it remained firm.

Taka panted slightly, her lack of energy stores and the added physical and emotional strain catch up to her quickly. "Y-you fucking heard me- why would I take energy from someone like you-"

" _Not_ that part." He bit back, his face getting dangerously close to hers, amber eyes burning.

Taka's hold on his arm started to falter, her eyes blinking rapidly and her vision starting to turn black at the edges... _shit, I'm running too low..._ _if this keeps up I'm going to fall asleep while being choked out... how embarrassing..._ "I-I didn't k-know it w-was...hap-"

Izumo, got between the two and pushed hard on Mikoto's chest. "Mikoto, that's enough! You're going to kill her!" Hearing Izumo's words Mikoto instantly released his hold on Taka's throat, allowing her to fall back onto her own two legs which almost instantly gave way under her weight. Izumo caught her under the arms, saving her from any major impact. Mikoto watched on with disinterest, kneeling down to be at eye level with her. As Taka gasped for air, he felt a small wave of guilt wash through him; he hadn't meant his hold to be that tight. But he refused to apologize for it. "Taka, are you alright-?""

Mikoto reached around Izumo and grabbed Taka's chin, lifting her head up so that she was forced to look at Izumo and himself. Her honey brown eyes, normally full of fire, were dull and unfocused, small tears gathered at their inner most corner as a result of her breathless state. "Tell me."

"Mikoto, there's more pressing things to worry about right now!" Izumo pressed, placing his hand on Mikoto's arm as if to push him further away from the obviously overwhelmed Taka.

Said woman grunted, blinking her eyes several times in an effort to clear up her vision. "I-I didn't know... until Anna..."

 _Four weeks prior-_

 _Taka sat at the bar, stirring her non-alcoholic drink absentmindedly. Beside her sat Anna, her breakfast half gone and a thoughtful look in her eyes. Looking at the older woman beside her, Anna tilted her head ever so slightly to the left. Sensing the unnaturally silent child looking her way, Taka gave Anna a side long glance. "Everything alright Princess?"_

 _"...you're red."_

It took more energy then Taka was ever willing to admit to tell Izumo and Mikoto her rather short, and uneventful tale. Anna, the ever intuitive Strain, had picked up on the accumulation of Mikoto's Aura within Taka, and had been the one to inform Taka of the change. "S-so t-there... now you know..." Mikoto released his hold on her chin and stood up, taking a couple steps back. With out his hand holding her head up, her chin fell down onto her chest. She closed her eyes to fight off the dizzy spell that hit her, and let out a long sigh. "...y-you gonna kill me now?"

Izumo gave Mikoto a chastising look, one that he returned with one of apathy. "Nobodies killing anyone here." Izumo said, placing his hands on Taka's shoulders as she stared to fall forward, her muddled brain wanting desperately to fall asleep. "Are you alright? Maybe we should take you to the hospital-" Taka violently shook her head. "Taka, you're not looking good."

"Imjuuust tired..." she slurred. "I u-used up all my energy stores..."

Mikoto's eyes narrowed speculatively. "Hmm?"

Taka grabbed her head, letting out a low groan; she wasn't in the mood to answer his fucking questions. "I'm a-actively pre...preventing the enegico stealt-stealing..." she looked up at him through her hands and bangs. "It makes you angry... that I used it... so I-I'm not-"

"Idiot." Mikoto bit out, with Izumo nodding his head in agreement. "This is different."

"huh?"

Izumo sighed, placing a gentle hand on Taka's head. "What Mikoto means to say, is it's different now that we know what's going on." Taka wanted to look his way, but she was quickly losing even the most basic of movements. "It's pretty obvious that you require a steady supply of outside energy to function, which is something your Strain collects for you on a subconscious level." Taka grunted, though whether it was in understanding or simply involuntary, Izumo couldn't discern. "If you need to take energy from those around you, then he's giving you permission to take what ever you need."

Taka shook her head, the action making Mikoto grit his teeth. He knelt down again, his sudden movement making her head snap to so she could stare at him. "Take it." Taka blinked lazily at him, her overall lack of response only serving to make his temper spike. "Stubborn."

"Hmmmm..." Taka sighed, her shoulders sagging and her chin falling to her chest once more. When she didn't move again, Mikoto and Izumo shared a worried glance.

"...did she die?" Mikoto asked, reaching a finger out as if to poke her. He paused when he felt a distinct shift in the air. Looking Izumo's way again he could tell that he hadn't mistaken in his interpretation. Further confirmation came when his Aura began to spill from his out stretched hand, twirling lazily towards Taka's unmoving body. He noted the difference in the way his Aura made it's way to her this time around; where as before it'd been edgy and almost violent, now it seemed to struggle to reach her; was it mimicking her current state of mind? Was she only able to actively take energy based on her physical and mental stability at the exact moment? Does it help if the source of her energy is closer? Wanting to test out his theory, Mikoto leaned forward the few inches more that was needed for his hand to rest against the top of her head.

"What are you doing?" Izumo asked, a certain weariness to his tone; after all it had only been a few minutes since Mikoto had used that same hand to nearly strangle Taka to death. However, upon witnessing the increase in the energy flow, his doubts were washed away. "That's... incredible."

"Weird."

Izumo's brow furrowed in mild confusion. "Yeah, I wonder why she's not getting burned too. Does she have the mark?" The two looked at the unconscious teen, and an uncomfortable silence took over.

"..." Mikoto's nose scrunched up. "We doing this, or what?"

"NO!" Izumo shouted, punching him in the head. "We can't just do something like that to a woman, we'd be labeled as perverts for the rest of our lives!"

"A little late in your case." Mikoto stated, hardly effected by Izumo's hit, though he did make a point to avoid looking his best friends way for fear of catching Izumo's glare head on. He's still not convinced that Izumo could actually kill someone with a look, and he wasn't about to take the chance on that now.

Izumo, seeing that his ire was going ignored, gave out a pensive sigh. "So what now? We've got one hell of a problem on our hands if Gintoki's back from licking his wounds."

Mikoto grunted as he moved from his haunches onto his bottom, keeping his hand firmly against Taka's head. With his free hand he pulled out a cigarette and lit it with his Aura, taking a big drag from it and holding it in. Removing the cigarette from his lips, Mikoto let out a long smoky breath, resting his head in the palm of his left hand. "I thought he was dead."

"hm?" Izumo asked, also moving into a more comfortable position. "Well he's ether still kicking or someone is posing as him; either way, it's trouble." Mikoto hummed in agreement, taking yet another drag. Falling to temptation Izumo pulled out his own pack, placing an unlit cig between his teeth. "So, what's the plan boss?"

"Burn them." The answer was simple; so simple, Izumo wondered why he had even bothered to ask.

"Should I get ahold of the boys then?" Mikoto shook his head, earning a curious look from his advisor. "You're not thinking of going after them alone, are you?"

The Red King glanced down at Taka for a moment, noting that the color of her face had returned to normal as had her breathing. "Those bastards didn't learn their lesson." He said, a deep frown falling onto his face as he thought back to the reason he'd had to confront Gintoki and his men in the first place; the memory of Tatara and Taka all banged up as a result of merely associating with him. Mikoto would be damned if he ever let Gintoki, or anyone else for that matter lay a hand on another clansmen or their family again. "This time, I'll go alone; and I won't leave a single ash."

* * *

Taka groaned and rolled over, burying her face into the pillow she found there. She felt like she'd been hit by a truck, thrown over a bridge into an ice cold river, hit by a boat and then dragged back onto land, laid across a train track and ran over again, just for good measure. Every square inch of her hurt; it's been so long since she'd suffered from energy depletion that she had forgotten just how shitty the recovery cold be.

"Taka?" Hearing Izumo's voice from across the room, Taka groaned in response. "So you are awake; how do you feel?"

"...I need a damn aspirin and gin'n tonic..."

Izumo chuckled, the dip in the bed telling Taka that he'd moved to sit beside her. She rolled over, wincing when the lights hit her eyes. "Sorry, no underage drinking allowed here." She pouted at him and rolled back over, burying her head under the pillow she'd been snuggling previously. Another dip in the bed, this one suspiciously smaller, made Taka peek out from under the pillow.

Worried red eyes looked back at her from the end of the bed, causing the smallest pang of guilt to strike Taka's heart. Reaching her arm out Taka beckoned Anna to her side and the young girl was all to happy to oblige, laying down beside the older strain and snuggling against her. "Hey Princess." Taka wrapped her arms around Anna, burying her face in the young girls white hair. "Sorry that I worried you; I'm feeling better now."

Izumo hummed, a small smile coming to his face. "Well we're all glad that you're up, Taka." At that moment the door opened and Tatara entered, carrying with him a tray laden with some food and a glass of water.

"Oh, so she's up? Perfect timing on my part then!" He said with exuberance, a bright smile on his face as he set the tray down on the single bedside table. "Here Taka, I brought you some food and water, and a couple aspirin." Izumo eyed the food with a cocked eye brow.

"Strawberry pocky? That hardly counts as food!" He scolded, even as Taka sat up and looked at the tray with weary eyes. With Anna still clinging to her waist, Taka grabbed the aspirin and water first, quickly popping the pills and downing the entire glass of water.

Tatara laughed at Izumo's disapproval as he took the empty glass from Taka. "It's the only thing she'll be able to stomach for the time being." He explained, earing a grunt from Taka as she reached for a couple pocky sticks, offering one to Anna who took said treat and nibbled on it tentatively. Taka took a bite of the sweet treat, letting her head fall back against the wall-

Wall? Where was her head board? Come to think of it, her bed was only a single. Lifting her head up off the wall, Taka took a good look at the room she was in, a scowl coming to her face. "...what am I doing in here?" Izumo and Tatara both chuckled at her perplexed tone, their glee only adding to her discomfort. "Did you guys put be in Red's bed? My rooms just down the hall you know!" She hissed at them.

"Relax Taka; you crawled up here on your own shortly before Mikoto left." Izumo said as if it made everything better. It didn't; in fact, it made her mortification grow. She'd put _herself_ here? While Mikoto was still present? Would someone just shoot her and get it over with! "We tried to move you, but you were out the moment your head hit the bed so we decided that you getting rest was more important than where you would be resting."

Taka sighed, her cheeks still dusted pink even as she reluctantly agreed. "Yeah, I guess so..." She perked up suddenly, her pocky stick hanging out of the corner of her mouth even as she spoke. "Wait, did you just say that Mikoto left?"

Izumo nodded his head. "Yeah, he went to take care of Gintoki and his men; today was another close call." The blonde bartender frowned, a cold look coming into his eyes. "Mikoto wont be taking any chances; this time he wont leave anything behind."

"And let me guess, Mr. Big shot went by himself." Izumo, Tatara and Anna all nodded. "Tsk, shit..." She shoved the rest of pocky in her mouth, mumbling profanities under her breath. Pulling the blankets off her legs, she moved to scoot past Izumo. Anna released her hold of Taka's waist and instead held loosly to the back of her tank top as the teen stretched her arms and legs above her head. "Fantasia, right? The place that bastards hiding out at?"

Izumo shook his head, a tight frown falling onto his lips. "Taka, you can't possibly think it's a good idea to follow him-"

"Look, first off Mikoto and I don't like each other, end of story." Taka said, earning a rather surprised look from Izumo and a snicker from Tatara. "He's important to the others. Secondly, I already had Red fight my battle with these guys once before, and I'll be damned before I let him have all the fun a second time around. And thirdly..." Taka stopped mid rant, her lower lip jutting out in thought. "Well, actually, I don't have a thirdly- but I'll think of something while I'm out!"

Tatara sighed, his hand coming to rest on his sisters shoulder. "Taka, you really shouldn't go." she opened her mouth to protest. "But I know I can't stop you. Just know, that if you get hurt, I'm reserving the right to say "I-told-you-so" as many times as I want."

Taka rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah- what ever." She turned then, giving Izumo an expectant look. He stared back at her, reluctance radiating off of him in waves. He clearly didn't want to let her go." You know if you say no, I'll just sneak out of here later just to spite you." Izumo sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat making taka smile in victory before turning around to face Anna.

The young girl looked up at Taka with troubled eyes, the expression on her face almost making Taka take back her plans to follow after Mikoto. Taka wrapped her arms around Anna's shoulders and pulled her into a hug, tucking the smaller girls head under her chin. "Hey, don't look at me like that; Red and I will be home before its time for bed." She squeezed Anna once more before pulling back and holding her at arms length. "Pinky Promise." She held out her pinky which Anna wrapped her own around, the two of them shaking on it before Taka stepped away from the bed, grabbing a few more pieces of pocky off the tray. "If Mikoto's already there, this shouldn't take to long." She said to Izumo who still looked rather put off by her leaving. "If we're not back in two hours-"

"I'll worry about that." Izumo said, sending a side long glance to Anna who was now sitting on the bed edge, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Taka frowned a bit, and nodded, making her way out of the bed room.

"Order out for dinner tonight; we don't need Tatara and Anna dying of food poisoning!" Taka shouted from out in the hall making Tatara laugh and Izumo balk.

"Yes _Ma'am_." Izumo felt his brow twitch, her jab at his cooking earned but unappreciated. A moment later he heard the front door slam shut making him wince; she seemed to be a pretty bad mood all of a sudden, and he couldn't place whether or not that was a good thing... Letting out a long sigh, Izumo turned to an expectant looking Tatara and Anna. "So, what should we have for dinner?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

* * *

Mikoto took his time on his way to Fantasia; he knew that Gintoki, or who ever was pretending to be him, would be waiting. If he'd really planned to kill them all, Gintoki wouldn't have sent just one guy to the false meeting today and he sure as hell wouldn't have left the job up to a newbie with no back bone. No, this entire thing had been a set up, no doubt to lure Mikoto out alone. But Mikoto didn't mind playing into this particular trap; if his guys weren't around, he wouldn't have to hold back. And he didn't plan to.

To tell the truth, even if he didn't have business to attend to tonight, Mikoto would have probably gone out looking for a fight. Everything about that day had been stressful, and it all seemed to come back to one fucking person; Takara Totsuka. That bitch- he's never wanted to punch a woman in their face as often or as badly as he did her. If she wasn't Tatara's sister, and if the others weren't so attached to her, he'd have kicked her to the curb months ago. Seeing her using the Red Aura today had just been the icing on the cake; her taking it right before his eyes right after he had yelled at her for being so reckless, had been the FUCK YOU written on top. He snapped, something that seemed to be an all to regular occurrence when it came to that woman. Before he'd even realized what had happened he'd grabbed her by her skinny little neck and slammed her into the door.

There was no fear, no hesitation from either of them after that; she'd damn near clawed his hand off, looked him dead in the eye and told him to go fuck himself even as he held her life in his hand. The memory alone made Mikoto's temper spike, his urge to punch something nearly doubling. If Izumo hadn't been there to break them up, he's sure things would have only escalated from there. And then she had the gal to try and refuse his Aura, even though it was pretty obvious that she needed it; it was fine when he didn't know about it, but now?

Mikoto growled under his breath, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a cigarette, lighting it with a burst of his aura. She was going to put him in an early grave, he just knew it. Every time they made a little progress, some stupid shit would go down and they would be right back at each others throats again. It's why he hadn't asked her to join HOMRA right out; he doesn't think the two of them could handle working together when they couldn't even sit in the same room for longer than an hour with out fighting.

"Hey, buddy, you can't smoke in here-" Ignoring the bouncer completely, Mikoto stalked into the Fantasia Gentlemen's Club. The word "Gentlemen" was used very lightly here; the place was a shit hole, full to the brim with drug addicted dancers and their pimps. The floor was sticky with god only knows what, and the smell of sex and vomit permeated the air. Mikoto felt disgust roll through him; sure, he'd been to the red light district before, but even he had higher standards than this dump. Looking around, Mikoto spotted a few men sporting black work boots and white bandannas; Gintoki's men. A few seemed to have spotted him as well, their eyes unconsciously flickering from him to a painted black door along the back wall. A couple others were making their way towards him through the flashing lights and partiers, their intensions written on their faces.

Mikoto let out an annoyed huff as he strode over to the bar. Just as Gintoki's men were in reach he picked up a bar stool and slammed it into their heads, taking out the lot of them with out using a single ounce of his Aura. Screams from the dancers and bar goers filled the room as the men hit the ground, and the music that had been playing so loudly one couldn't even think came to an abrupt stop. Mikoto, satisfied with his handy work, set the bar stool down before glancing around the room, his apathetic amber eyes seeking out the small collection of white bandannas. "I'm looking for Gintoki Jin." The remaining gang members all visibly flinched as he pulled his cigarette out of his mouth, flicking the ashes onto the carpet. "If you don't know who that is, then I suggest you leave." When nobody made a move towards the door, Mikoto flared his Aura, the red flames curling up around his feet and licking against the dirty white carpet, leaving scorch marks in its wake. " _Now_."

A bar had never cleared out so quickly, the patrons and club workers scrambling over top of one another in their attempt to get out of the middle of what was sure to be a brutal fight. A couple of the White Scarves tried to follow the pedestrians out, but were stopped by a wall of fire that made them scramble back on their asses with screams of terror. "Where do you think you're going?" Mikoto said, taking drag, his burning amber eyes staring down the few who were left in the bar. There were only seven guys in the room, and they all looked about ready to wet themselves. More newbies then. "Well?"

A moment passed before any of the men made a move, all seven of them rushing towards Mikoto at one time. He grunted in annoyance, not even bothering to use his Aura to take them on. Most of them went down with one hit to the jaw, and those that did get back up were quick to rethink their approach. Mikoto was about to unleash his Aura to end this bull shit game when the sound of flesh hitting flesh made him peek over his shoulder. One of the White Scarves he'd taken out before had gotten back up and attempted to return the favor; only problem is, he hadn't been expecting Mikoto to have any back up. Hell, Mikoto hadn't been planning on having any back up. But it became pretty obvious that he wasn't alone as Taka walked across the mans back, kicking the bar stool away from him as she came to stand beside the Red King. "Sup, bitches."

"What are you doing here?" Mikoto asked in exasperation. Taka pulled out one of the last pocky sticks she'd brought with her and stuck it in her mouth like a she would a cigarette before offering one up to him which he reluctantly took; curse his love of food. Flicking his cigarette but to the side he took a bite of the sweet treat. "So?"

"I'm in." She said, earning a cocked brow from Mikoto. "If you want me, that is."

The two stood there in a dead locked stare, while those in the White Scarves simply watched from a distance; the didn't know who this woman was, but she came bringing food for the Red King, so it was obvious she wasn't on _their_ side. Also, she knocked one of their guys out soooo... Mikoto grunted, and held out his right hand towards her, the red flame of his Aura dancing across his palm. "Tag in." Unlike many of the other clansmen, Taka didn't hesitate to grab Mikoto's hand. It didn't shock either of them when the Aura almost instantly accepted her into it's ranks, as it had been more than willing to let her wield it before. As for where her mark was...

Taka scrunched her face up in distaste. "You don't get to choose where the mark goes, do you?" There was an underlying threat to her tone, one that dared him to tell her otherwise. He was half tempted to say that he did get a choice, but given their current situation...

"No." Mikoto released her hand, the need for physical contact having passed the moment the Aura accepted her into the clan. He couldn't exactly pin why he'd given in so quickly; hadn't he just been thinking that her joining was a bad idea? He'd have to talk to Izumo about getting some extra insurance put on the bar...

Taka sighed and cracked her knuckles. "Good. I'd have to kill you now if you did." She said, stepping forward as the White Scarves new adversary. With each step she took the Red Aura flared around her feet, stretching up around her like blood ripples in a pool of water. Mikoto watched the Aura carefully, taking note of the distinct difference between what she carried and what he'd seen from the others. It looked different for everyone, the way it moved with them and even the intensity of the flame always changing to fit that persons fighting style. While the others Aura's were all jagged and rough around the edges, Taka's seemed to billow around her, spreading a soft red glow through out the room. "Now... which one of you fuckheads is first?"

It took but a moment before one of the men charged forward, his fists raised in a half assed way. Taka scoffed, side stepping his pitiful lunge and raising her leg to kick him in the back of the head with enough force that he hit the ground and bounced a couple inches. The other White Scarves all scurried back then, their fists still raised defensively, though it was obvious that none of them were prepared to get any closer to The Red King and his newest clansmen. Taka, seeing their reluctance to move, tsked under her breath before deciding to bring the beating to them. Mikoto felt the air shift in a way that was becoming familiar to him, and couldn't help the crooked smirk that came to his face; these bastards didn't know what was about to hit'em. At the drop of a hat, Taka was gone, her departure leaving behind a sizable hole in the floor. She moved from one target to the next, taking them down with single blows to their heads and throats, leaving them flailing and screaming on the floor as flames danced across their skin. She kicked the last one in the gut, sending him to the back of the room where he slammed through the black painted door.

Mikoto watched all of this with a small smirk; looks like he would have to step up his game the next time they went at it. Taka stood in the center of the room, her eyes trained on the room beyond the door, the only source of light seeming to be that of the flames that now consumed the man she'd sent that way. A dark chuckle echoed from with in, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. The silhouette of a man appeared in the door way, his heavily bandaged face glowing in the red of her Aura. He continued his chuckling, a demented smile set upon his face despite the obvious pain it must have caused him. "Well, well, well- The Red King I was expecting, but _you_? I thought you were to good to join HOMRA." Taka's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Do I _know_ you?" She glanced at Mikoto for some kind of confirmation, but all she got was his unwavering stare at the man in the door way. So, he didn't know what this guy was talking about either. Figures. Turning back to the bandaged man, Taka frowned. "Are you Gintoki?"

The man laughed again, the grin on his face becoming so tight that blood was starting to come through the bandages around his mouth. "Why yes, I suppose I am aren't I?! That would only make sense, after all these fools would do anything I said!" Gintoki laughed again, looking back over his shoulder at the smoldering remains of his henchman. "They even tried to go toe to toe with the Third King, no questions asked! Truly unremarkable creatures!" Taka grit her teeth; how could he just laugh at the anguish of his own men? They trusted him to have their backs, and he was fine to just let them rot. As if sensing her anger Gintoki turned his head towards her once more, his wild grey eyes dancing with mischief. "Now Miss Takara, don't look at me that way darling, or your pretty face will get stuck with such an ugly expression." Her scowl deepened, making Gintoki laugh once again. "My, aren't you a feisty one! But you know, you _did_ ruin my plan by coming here tonight."

"Plan?" Mikoto asked, his first utterance since Taka had taken control over the fight. Taka didn't bother to look his way, unwilling to let Gintoki out of her sight for a second. There was something seriously wrong with this mans energy, and it was putting her further on edge with every passing moment.

Gintoki however, looked straight at Mikoto upon hearing his voice, the overwhelming glee on his face making the Red King frown. "Yes, yes- I didn't get the chance to fully enjoy the show! I do love it when activate your Sanctum Red King. So much power..." Gintoki trailed off then, his eyes going glassy for a moment or two before he jerked back into the here and now. "I was looking forward to watching you slaughtering my men, and then I had hoped to have a moment to delve deeper into what makes the Red King Tick, Tock, Tick!" Gintoki swiveled his head back towards Taka, the action jerky and unnatural. "But now... now I wont have time to attach myself to you, Red King." Gintoki took a few steps forward, his legs moving at an awkward angle that suggested they were either broken, or not working properly. "I'll have to settle for weaker pray-"

Taka, having heard enough of Gintoki's psychotic ramblings, lunged forward and struck him in the gut, making the bandage clad man double over her arm. "You're crazy." She said, surging her Aura into his stomach. He didn't so much as flinch, as if he had no idea of the pain his body should have been in. Instead, he grasped hold of her arms and pushed himself up so that he could look her in the eyes. Taka felt every muscle in her body freeze. She couldn't breath, she couldn't speak; her Aura fizzled out around her and her active Strain faltered.

" _Try as you might, Little Strain_..." Gintoki said- or, at least she thought he had said it. His mouth didn't move, and his eyes; they were lifeless as they stared at her, the crazed light that had been shinning in them extinguished. "... _you can't kill me..._ " Gintoki's body fell to the side then, as if he'd been barely hanging on by a thread. Taka didn't move, her honey brown eyes staring straight forward though unseeing.

In the background Mikoto watched the exchange with a furrowed brow and a small frown. "Totsuka." He called out to her, but wasn't rewarded with a response. His brow furrowed further as he made his way over to her, kicking Gintoki's body out of the way so that he could kneel in front of his clansman-clanswoman? Fuck it- "Totsuka." He waved his hand in front of her vacant eyes; what the hell had happened? She'd taken out Gintoki, who had used the last bits of his strength to try and push away from her only to fall over dead. Taka's Aura had extinguished it's self, and if the feeling in the air was anything to go by, then she had deactivated her Strain as well, but now what was going on? Was she in shock from her first kill? Maybe having her dive so deep on her first night as a member had been a mistake... Reaching out, Mikoto tapped her cheek with his hand. "Hey, wake up. It's over." Again, he didn't receive a response... _is she even breathing?..._ Holding his hand up to her face, Mikoto's eyes widened. "Shit!"

Grabbing hold of her shoulders he pushed her onto the ground, his mind racing; she wasn't breathing. She wasn't responding. Her body was dead weight when he moved her. "Come on, Totsuka, don't do this." He said under his breath as he wracked his brain for what to do. He'd heard about CPR, but he didn't know how to do it. Could he try just- throwing most of his caution to the wind, Mikoto collected his Aura into the palm of his hand. "Wake up." He bit out before smacking his open hand against her chest, shoving his aura into her as he went. Whether it was the application of his Aura or the shock of getting bitch slapped in the chest he would never know, but Taka jerked violently, a ragged scream followed by a chorus of coughs ripping from the throat. Mikoto let out a relieved sigh; the others would never forgive him if he'd let her die on her first night as a member. "You okay?" He asked as Taka rolled away from him and onto her hands and knees, her coughing having caused her to start dry heaving.

"S-shit... what the hell _happened?"_ She asked as she rubbed her sternum and her head.

"You stopped breathing."

Taka gapped openly at the news; she'd _stopped breathing_? That wasn't a normal side effect of using the Red Aura, at least not in anyone else. "Really?" She asked, hearing Mikoto nod from his kneeling position behind her. "Damn... that's fucked up." She rolled over onto her bottom, her right hand still rubbing at her head. "My head is _killing_ me."

"Probably because you almost died." Mikoto stood then, taking in the damage they had caused around the room. Taka stood up as well, though she stumbled a bit as her head gave a rather painful throb. Had she hit her head on something when she went down? Sure as hell felt like it.

Rubbing her temples she addressed Mikoto. "So, what now?"

Mikoto glanced her way, his eyes flickering to her messaging finger tips before going back to the body of Gintoki. "Burn it; don't leave anything behind." He said, his aura lighting up around his hands. Taka nodded and followed his lead, reaching down towards Gintoki's body with her hand enveloped in fire; she could get used to this kind of thing. As she set fire to the body, she couldn't help but think of the mans last words...

"Hey, did you hear what he said to me before he died?" She asked Mikoto who quirked a brow at her. Was this really the time for idle chit chat? "He said "You can't kill me". He must have really been off his rocker." The fires around them began to spread, the alcohol stained carpet acting as a perfect accelerant. Stretching her arms over her head, Taka let out a loud yawn. "Damn I'm tired; lets head back home. Anna and the other two are waiting for us." She turned to leave, not catching the confusion that was swimming in Mikoto's eyes as he watched her head for the door. He looked down at Gintoki's flaming corpse, his brow furrowing ever so slightly.

Mikoto knew; Gintoki had died with out uttering a single last word.


	4. Aversion

Aversion

Noun

Plural - Aversions

1 - a strong dislike or disinclination

2 - someone or something that arouses strong feelings of dislike

* * *

Fuck this day. All of it. That lamp post over there? Fuck it. That car? Fuck it. The douche bag that just cut her off and almost made her fall into a puddle? Yeah, that guy gets a big old "FUCK YOU! Watch where you're going, you damn prick!" Taka was not having a good day. Not. At. All. Running errands for Izumo had to be in the top ten things she hated in life. His lists were always maddeningly long, and spread out all over town. And on top of all of that running around, it was raining. In October. As if it wasn't enough to get her feet wet, it was also freakin' cold as freak outside. Taka could be carrying a thesaurus around, and STILL have no words to describe her ire. Izumo was going to owe her big time.

Taka rubbed the back of her neck, trying to ease the tension headache that had been settling on her shoulders all of the last month. "Just one more stop, then I can go home... and take a hot bath. Maybe I can convince Tatara to wash my hair for me..." Pouting, Taka flagged down a Taxi, putting her trolley of goods into the trunk before settling into the back seat.

"Where to?" The driver asked, his round face smiling back at her through the rear view mirror.

"Shizume Tailors, please."

With a nod from the kindly driver they were off, and Taka took that moment to relax against the back seat, soaking up as much warmth from the rear heating system as she could. Various thoughts floated across her mind; what were the others up to right then? What could she make for dinner? Had Mikoto burned the place down yet? She became so lost in thought that she began to zone out, the world around her becoming a void of white. It wasn't until the Taxi driver reached back and shook her arm a bit that she snapped out of her stupor, her startled eyes landing on the worried face of the driver. "Hey honey, we're here." He said making Taka look out the back window; Shizume Tailors' neon open sign blinked back at her, it's bright light making the headache at the base of her skull throb irritably. "That'll be 1300 yen please."

"Gah, yeah sorry- my bad. Guess I spaced out there..." Taka reached into her pocket and pulled out the wad of cash that Izumo had provided her with for that days purchases. Counting out the correct amount along with a few extra yet for tip, Taka handed it over to the driver. "Here you go; thank you."

The driver smiled at her, tipping his hat to her as she exited the car. "No, thank you Miss. Have a good rest of your day, and try to stay warm!" Taka waved to the kind man as he drove off, leaving her and her trolley standing out in the substantially lighter rain. Not wanting to dawdle, Taka made her way into the shop trolley in toe... _at least I can walk home from here...my dearest hot bath, please be available when I return..._

* * *

"I'm back!" Taka announced as she walked in through the back door to the HOMRA Bar. Looking around the now familiar kitchen brought a sense of welcome relief to her heart; she was finally home. Izumo's head poked around the door leading out to the bustling main room, a smile spreading across his face when he spied her and her full trolley of goods.

"Welcome home." Izumo said, making a small smile come to Taka's face. "Thank you for doing the shopping today, Taka. We've been swamped since two."

Taka waved off his gratitude, her annoyance from before waning as the warmth of the kitchen started to chase the cold out of her bones. "Don't mention it. Not like you haven't done plenty for Tatara and I. Grocery shopping is the absolute least I can do to pay you back." Izumo chuckled and shook his head just as the voice of a patron called out to him for a refill on their drink.

"Well I might need to steal a little more of your time tonight; I'm going to need your help serving for a bit. Feel free to take a little time warming up." He said earning a nod of understanding from Taka. "Oh, and that dry cleaning I had you pick up is something for you; Tatara had the idea for a uniform." This made the young woman grimace; a uniform? For working in a bar? How detestable. "I'm not sure what he picked out, but he promised that you wouldn't absolutely hate it."

Taka let out a forlorn sigh, her shoulders slumping dramatically. "Guess I'll only have to beat him to within five inches of his life instead of just killing him out right." Izumo laughed once again before vanishing into the main bar to see to the seemingly endless sea of patrons. That was the one and only good thing about the cold whether; it always brought in the customers. Nothing warms the blood like some great food, cheap beer and so-so company. And at HOMRA, you could get all three.

Not wanting to keep Izumo waiting Taka rushed upstairs, almost knocking Chitose over along the way. "Whoa there Taka-chan, I know you missed me, but tackling me on the stairs is dangerous." Chitose said after preventing Taka from tripping over him.

Taka snorted in a rather unlady like way. "Sorry, I just couldn't resist." Her sarcasm, while not missed by Chitose, prompted a sly smirk to come across his face.

"If you want we can move this to your room; tackling me onto the bed is woman tested, Chitose approved-mmph!" A hand grabbing hold of Chitose's face from behind cut him off with a startled yelp.

"Jeeze, will you knock it off?" Dewa said, his mouth pulled down into a frown at his so called best friends antics. "One of these day's she's going to punch you into next year, and nobody is going to try and stop her." Chitose visibly sulked, earning an eye roll from Taka and Dewa. "Welcome home, by the way."

"You have no idea how happy I am to be home." She said, the scowl on her face giving away just how awful her day had been. "I'll let you in on my inner turmoil later; I gotta help Izy tonight. It's a mad house down there." As if to solidify her words a rather loud roar of jubilance came from the main bar room down stairs, along with a couple boos. Seemed that what ever game was one was going in the patrons favor that evening.

"We're going out to "get some"." Chitose said while raising his eye brows sugestively, making Taka put a hand over her heart in mock hurt.

"And to think, I thought what we had was special!"

Chitose gasped, grasping her hand in between his own a horrified look on his face. "No, Taka-chan it's not what you think-"

Taka pulled her hand away and marched dramatically up the stairs, taking a page out of Tatara's book of acting. "It's to late for your apologies! I've been bruised, abused and misused and I'll never forgive you for it, Yo Chitose!"

"NOOOOOOO! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" Chitose shouted making Dewa grimace and shoot Taka's back an irritated frown.

"Thanks a lot, Totsuka." He said as he grabbed Chitose by the upper arm, dragging the youth down the stairs. "Come on, lover boy."

"TAKA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Chitose called out dramatically, making the patrons in the bar stare at Dewa and himself with mild curiosity.

Meanwhile at the top of the stairs Taka was full on laughing, the sound echoing through the hall and into the room on the left side of the far end of the hall. Tatara's ears perked up at the sound of his sisters voice, a wide smile coming to his face. "Sounds like Taka's home; and she's in good mood!" He looked over to his right. "Do you think she'll like her new uniform?"

Mikoto, who was sitting on the couch with his head lazily leaning against the back cushion, grunted under his breath. "I think she's going to strangle you with it."

Tatara laughed in response before going back to what he'd been previously doing; a tea party with Anna. "Can I have some more, please?" He asked earning an eager nod from the child. She picked up her little red tea pot and poured the pretend tea into his red cup, a dainty smile on her face. "Thank you very much!"

"You're welcome." Anna said quietly, a light blush coming to her cheeks. They continued this way for a while, with Tatara chattering to Anna and Mikoto about the different kinds of tea he'd read about a while back. "Did you know that you can make tea out of fruit peels? I guess depending on what ever you are suffering from, there's a tea that can help alleviate some of the symptoms-"

The door to the bed room slammed open, making Tatara nearly jump out of his skin. Mikoto glanced up in annoyance, already knowing who had barged in as she _never_ knocked. Anna didn't seem surprised, and went about her business of drinking her tea, seeming oblivious to the sketchy aura that was radiating into the room. From the hall way Taka came marching in, clad in her bath robe her hair still wet and what looked to be a rather frilly black and red dress clutched in her right hand. " _You._ " She pointed at Tatara making his smile falter slightly, a look of panic coming to his bright honey brown eyes. She held the dress up, shaking it to emphasize her frustration. "What the hell is this, huh?"

"Why, it's the new uniform I ordered!" Tatara said, moving to get to his feet. Taka growled and walked over, socking him in the back of the head earning a yelp of surprise from her older brother. "Ow! Come on Imoto, it's not _that_ bad!"

"Say's the guy who doesn't have to wear the damn thing!" Taka unfolded the dress and held it up for his inspection. It was Lolita in style, which she was fine with, but the corset top looked like it would show much more skin than she was comfortable with. It had a sweet heart neck line that was trimmed in black lace and three cut outs that feel just between her breasts, just bellow them and around the navel. The shoulders and arms of the dress, as well as the three cut outs, had a fine fishnet material that would obscure some of the more intimate details, but all in all the outfit seemed far to revealing for a uniform.

"Oh... looks like some alterations were made with out my knowledge." Tatara said, his brow furrowing in confusion. "I'm sorry Taka, I didn't have any of this showing," he motioned towards the front of the corset, the corners of his mouth falling into a frown.

Mikoto, who had been looking the dress over, shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see what the big deal is; it's just skin." He said earning an irritated glare from the female. "Have you even tried it on?"

Taka's cheeks turned a bright pink. "No! I'm not wearing it!" She said, turning her head to side hotly.

Tatara looked the dress over once again, running his fingers over the silky corset. "Hmmm... come on Taka, I'll help you try it out." He said earning a growl from his sister.

"Are you deaf? Pretty sure I just said I'm not wearing the damn thing." She said making Tatara sigh dramatically.

"Don't be like that; it may not be as bad as you think. Things always look different on the hanger, right?"

Taka looked at her brother out of the corner of her eye, his hopeful smile quickly breaking down her resolve. "Grrrrrr-fine! I'll try it on! But just know, I'm going to complain the entire time!" She bit out, making Tatara clap his hands in victory.

"How's that different from every other waking moment of your life?" Mikoto questioned, a hidden smirk twitching at the very corner of his mouth when she turned smoldering eyes onto him.

Taka pointed an incriminating finger at him, her cheeks turning red in anger. "Pants or no pants, I will kill you and feel nothing." He only grunted in response, far to entertained with her abhorrence over the dress to give her threat much weight. "... lets just get this over with..." Taka said, letting out a defeated sigh as Anna stood from the floor and came to her side, taking Taka's hand in hers.

"Great!" Tatara said, his excitement shown as he practically pranced out of the room. "We'll come show you when we're done, King!"

"Don't care..." Mikoto said with a disinterested sigh as the three filed out of his room, Tatara shutting the door behind them. Finally, some god damn peace and quiet

* * *

"Ravishing!" Tatara said while Anna clapped her hands daintily. Taka gave him a dead glare through her reflection in the mirror, her fingers twitching to remove the offending cloth from her person. "At first I wasn't to sure, but those alterations really make the look! And the new cut really shows off your clan's mark beautifully-"

"Tatara." Taka bit out, her left brow twitching irritably. "Shut up." Tatara snapped his mouth shut with a small squeal, though the enthusiasm refused to fade from his eyes. Taka gave herself a once over in the floor length mirror hanging on the back of Anna's door. Sure, the dress didn't look _awful_ , but it definitely wasn't her style. The top wasn't as whoreish as Taka had first feared it would be, though that was thanks in part to her small bosom. The corset top actually managed to give her some semblance of a figure. but the skirt was a no go; black and full of ruffles and falling to her knees, it was entirely to girly for her. How was she supposed to kick ass in a skirt? Her goal was to be the thing of nightmares, not fulfill some perverts dream of getting a panty shot. "You can't actually think that wearing something like this as a uniform for a _bar_ is a good idea; do you _want_ me to break hands? Cause I can do that in my jeans and t's just fine." She turned around to look at the back side of the dress, grimacing when she spotted the dark red bow that rested against her lower back.

"Hm? Do you not like it?" Tatara asked as he moved Anna from his lap and came to his sisters side, a thoughtful look on his face.

Taka scoffed, and motioned to her full body. "What gave you that impression? I _love_ being confined in my movements and deprived of oxygen every time I bend over." Tatara chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "While I will admit the top being _okay_ at most, the skirt is a definite no go. There's no way I could be of help in a something as restricting as a dress."

Tatara visibly wilted making her brow tick. "Darn, and here I was just trying to be a good big brother and dote upon my darling little sister!" Taka sighed, flicking him in the forehead and making him yelp. "Ow! Sorry- but it's true. We've been here for almost a year, and you've been wearing the same four tank tops and t's that Kusanagi got you." She gave him a blank look, making him wave his hands in a mild panic. "N-not that it's a bad thing! It's just, you've been working hard to make sure Anna, the others and I have everything we need." Taka looked from him to Anna, who was staring down at her fidgeting hands. "Though I guess we were a little over zealous in our choice this time around-?"

Taka wrapped her arms around her brother and pulled him into a tight hug, nuzzling her head against his chest. "Idiot." Tatara smiled and wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the seldom shown affection. "You don't have to worry about me like that."

Tatara chuckled and hugged her tighter, making her squeal as she was smashed uncomfortably into his body. "Well _someone_ has too! God only knows, you don't." Taka grunted and pinched his stomach making him jump back from her with a yelp of surprise.

"Jeeze!" She hissed at him while Tatara rubbed his injured belly. "Are you _trying_ to suffocate me?"

"With very little success," he said making her roll her eyes and turn back towards the mirror, their sweet sibling moment having passed.

Taka rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly before spying Anna's reflection... _oh dear god, if you could die from cuteness overload I'd already be six feet under..._ Letting out a defeated sigh, Taka readjusted the skirt one more time. "Fine; I'll give it a shot for tonight. But I still insist that we get the skirt exchanged for pants!"

Tatara gave an excited whoop before scurrying over to Anna's closet. "This is wonderful!" He reached into the back and pulled out a child size black and red Lolita style dress, holding it up to Anna's shoulders excitedly. "Now the two of you can match! Ooooohhhhh I can't wait to get a picture of you together!"

Taka felt her left brow twitch. "...this was the plan from the start, wasn't it?" Tatara gave her a sheepish smile in return. "Was Izy part of this?" Another smile. "You know what? I don't even care- hurry and get her dressed, I have to be getting down stairs now-" Tatara shoved a pair of black pumps into her face, making her grimace. "Ugg, right..." Snatching the shoes from her brother, Taka made her way out into the hall.

She bounced on one foot as she tried to slip on the horrid heels... _just another reason why pants would be a better choice; I could get away the tennis shoes-_ having switched to her other foot, Taka found herself falling over. Unable to right her self in time, she slammed into the floor with a startled yelp. "Fuck this day!" She exclaimed as she pushed herself onto her knees.

"Heh." Feeling her whole body twitch in annoyance, Taka shoot Mikoto the darkest look she could muster over her shoulder, the action only making his smug smirk grow.

"Wanna take this outside? I'd be more than happy to leave you bleeding in a gutter tonight." Taka said as she got back to her feet, using the wall to steady herself as she put on her other shoe.

Mikoto snorted as he made his way past her for the stairs. "And risk another panty shot? I'll pass." Taka's cheeks turned a violent shade of red, her hands fisting into her skirt angrily. "Nice tattoo by the way-"

Taking off her left shoe Taka threw it at the back of his head just as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "ASS HOLE!" She shouted as Mikoto took the hit head on, the force being enough to make him pitch forward a little. He managed to catch the shoe as it fell over his shoulder, and even had the gal to look offended as she came storming down the stairs behind him and snatched the shoe back. "Pants or not Pants, fuck tard- PANTS OR NO PANTS!"

* * *

"- he didn't seem to happy about my choi- Takara?" A light shake of her shoulder made Taka jump nearly two feet in surprise. Had she- "Hey, you alright? You spaced out again."

Shaking her head Taka came back to the here and now... _what had I even been thinking about..._ "Sorry Akemi..." She said before turning to look at one of the few friends she'd managed to keep through the years. Akemi was a pretty thing, with long blonde hair and bright brown eyes. Good grades and the ability to make friends with just about anyone, Akemi was a far cry from the stick figured socially inept Taka; it was a wonder that the naïve Akemi hadn't run for the hills by now. "... _what_ were we talking about again?"

Akemi sighed before taking a small sip from her smoothie. "I was telling you about my new boy friend!" She said, a warm smile coming to her blushing face. " His name is Rakshasa-"

Taka choked on her own tongue making Akemi and many other patrons at the surrounding tables give her curious looks. "W-wait *hack* Rakshasa- as in the drug lor-" Akemi reached across the table and slapped her hand over Taka mouth, a panicked look on her face.

"Ahahahaha- silly Taka, cover your mouth when you cough! Hahahaha!" With many of the other patrons rolling their eyes in contempt for the two teen girls interruption of their quite lunches, Akemi let out a relieved sigh when she and Taka were no longer the center of attention. "Sheesh! Do you _want_ to get us in trouble for acting suspiciously?!" She asked as she let go of Taka's mouth. "And yes, I _do_ mean that Rakshasa- don't give me that look! He's nothing at all like everyone thinks! He's kind, and gentle- he only acts like a bad person to keep his people safe!"

Taka took a large drink from her smoothie. "Akemi, a _dog_ is kind and gentle- that man's a snake in the grass! You could get into a some really trouble hanging around with the likes of him-!"

Akemi slammed her hands down on the table and pushed her self up from her seat, putting herself above Taka. "You have no room to scold me about who I claim as my friend miss HOMRA!" She shouted, once again drawing attention to their table. "No matter how much I may have disapproved, I've never let the fact that you willing joined those miscreants get between us! Rakshasa- how is my being with him any different than you being with HOMRA, huh?!"

Taka let out a long breath, a small smirk coming to her lips; it was rare that sweet, soft spoken Akemi got so riled up. Taka was always so proud. "Jeeze, and here you were worried that _I_ was going to make a scene." Akemi's face turned a very interesting shade of red as she sank back into her chair. "Look, you're right; I don't have much room to scold you here. But please understand, that I'm only trying to look out for you. My boy's have had dealings with Rakshasa and his men before; and there is no limit to their depravity." Taka took out her wallet and laid down the money for her half of the bill. "I can't stop you from seeing him. Just remember that if anything happens, and I do mean _anything_ , you can always call me." Akemi nodded her head, her embarrassment having calmed enough to allow her to smile.

* * *

After saying her good byes with Akemi, Taka decided to take the long way back to HOMRA. It was a little warmer out today, which was nice considering she had been forced to wear that god awful Lolita top that Tatara had gotten her some three months prior. In a stroke of brilliance, Izumo had left Mikoto in charge of laundry for a day to "give Taka a break". Yeah, break her fucking heart; Mikoto was never allowed to touch the dryer again. Long story short, Taka had contacted Akemi to go cloths shopping with her; and she was glad to have done so.

This new turn of events in Akemi's life was troubling; it was bad enough that Taka and Tatara were now part of the under world. Taka had been trying hard to keep everyone outside of HOMRA out of the lime light as much as she could. She'd never be able to forgive herself if anything happened to one of her outside friends, as few as they were... _but she had a great point...I can't really keep her from seeing him... I'll just have to keep a closer eye on her..._

"-ath out!" Stopping, Taka slammed her foot down on the back of a passing skate board, stopping said board in its tracks and sending it's rider flying off the deck and onto the pavement. "SHIT! WHAT THE H-H-H-HEEEEEEEEEEEE-"

"Shut up! Don't you "what the hell me", you little punk!" Taka shouted, making the young teen shrink beneath her intimidating glare. Giving him a once over, Taka scowled; for such a scrawny runt, it seemed this kid had quite the mouth on him. Short and skinny with somewhat lanky arms and legs, this auburn haired boy didn't look like he could win a fight against a half dead fly. "The sidewalk is for walking, not riding your skate board like a bat out of hell-"

"HEY! GET BACK HERE YOU RUNT!" Quirking a brow, Taka turned her attention to the direction the boy had come from, her scowl deepening when she saw a group of middle aged men come running from around the corner. She recognized some of them as belonging to Rakshasa's gang. What a coinkidink... _great, thanks Akemi; now I'm gonna run into these bastards every where I go..._

"Shit..." The boy, whom had yet to say anything else to her, pushed himself to his feet while simultaneously snatching his board out from beneath her foot. With out another word he took off once again, leaving Taka in his literal dust.

"Damn it!" One of the men shouted, his face bright red from running for so long. Just as he went to pass by Taka, he tripped over her extended ankle and fell flat on his face which in turn caused his posse to trip over and onto him. "OOMPH! G-GET OFF OF ME-"

"You bitch!" Taka dodged a punch to her head, countering with a hit of her own that brought the much larger man to his knees, his hands clutching at his groin. "S-shit..."

"Seriously guys? Can't win a fight against a real opponent, so now you're going after middle school kids?" Taka jutted her thump in the direction the kid had run off in. "How pathetic."

"D-damn it...when did HOMRA get here...GAH!" Taka slammed her heel down onto one of the mans hands, smirking in satisfaction as the bones crunched under the weight. "GET OFF ME!"

She knelt down then, grabbing their leader by his hair and pulling his head up to her eye level. "Now, listen closely; if I catch you harassing him, or any other kid in our territory again, I'll personally see to it that you're forced to eat through a straw and shit into a bag for the rest of your miserable lives. Do I make myself clear?" Not even waiting for him to respond, Taka threw his head away from her before righting her self and resuming her walk towards the bar, leaving Rakshasa's men in a heap on the sidewalk.

"Y-you didn't have to do that you know!"

Taka paused about a block down, cocking her head to the side with a quirked brow. Standing around the corner in a dead end ally was the same kid that had nearly run her over before, his skate board tucked under his arm and a very faint dusting of pink on his cheeks. "Would you have rather I held you down and let them catch you? Not gonna lie, I thought about it..."

"T-that's-"

"Then what, huh?!" Taka snapped at him, her tempter creeping up on her. "Make up your damn mind! If you're grateful, say so- if not, I'll drag you back up this street and toss you into the pile too!" The young teen all but squealed in fright under Taka's burning glare. "So, which is it?!"

"T-T-THANK YOU!" He shouted, holding his skate board up defensively.

Taka took a deep breath to calm her nerves... _damn brats these days..._ "Who the hell are you anyway? Shouldn't you be in school right now?"

The youth scowled, the look rather impressive given he'd been cowering only a moment ago. "School? Who needs that crap- it's a complete waste of time! And like you have room to scold _me_ about it! What about you, huh?! Shouldn't _you_ be in school too?!"

Taka's brows nearly hit her hair line; seemed she and Mikoto weren't the only ones with anger management issues. Where the hell had that come from? "Touché I guess... but you still haven't told me who you are."

As if realizing his over reaction, the young man suddenly became flustered, his blush from before coming back with vengeance. "Y-Yata...Misaki..."

"Yata, huh? My name is Takara Totsuka, but everyone calls me Taka..." An awkward silence fell over them then, with neither one knowing what else to say to each other. Nice weather? While true, Taka wasn't one for small talk. See the latest ball game? Yata didn't think most girls watched sports. "Well... see you around, Yata." Taka turned and waved to him over her shoulder, deciding it best to end both of their social anxiety attacks before they got out of hand. "Try not to get into to much trouble..."

"Y-yeah..." Yata brushed his auburn hair out of his face before jumping onto his skate board and taking off in the opposite direction from Taka. What a weird encounter for the both of them.


End file.
